


LabRynth

by breejah



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Future, Character Death, Cyberpunk, Despotism, Dystopia, F/M, FWUCollections, Indentured Servitude, Instant Lovers, Magic, Oligarchy, Oral Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Abilities, Psychological Torture, Rough Sex, Science Fiction, Sex, Slavery, Strangers to Lovers, Totalitarian Goverment, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 06:00:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15406557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breejah/pseuds/breejah
Summary: AU Story:The year is 2286 and the Aboveground as most know it has radically changed since the wars of the 2100s. Humans are now subjects to Fae law, despite human advocates gaining traction in Aboveground politics.While Fae leaders discount the rumors as mere propaganda that they rule both dimensions by totalitarian tactics, a simple Data Warehousing tech - Jareth King - employed by LabRynth, the largest corporation in the world that uses immersion technology to power many of the modern world's creations, stumbles across an oddity on his overnight shift that could could change both realities forever.Rated E for mature themes, sex, dystopia setting, potential violence, character death, etc.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Concept:** Convert Labyrinth from a straight fantasy story to one mixed with Future Cyberpunk and Sci-Fi elements. This is the result. Complete AU of my own making. I only own the settings and the Original Characters, all others are the IP of Jim Henson. 
> 
> I'm a huge fan of Sci-Fi but a very new writer to the genre. Any mistakes are my own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed a few things in this first chapter since I first wrote the fic, so any old readers might want to give it a good glance-over before resuming reading the story. Finally going to try and finish this one!

 

* * *

  ** _Part One: The White Rabbit_**

* * *

 

" _The library, with its Daedalian labyrinth, mysterious hush, and faintly ominous aroma of knowledge, has been replaced by the computer's cheap glow, pesky chirp, and data spillage." - **P. J. O'Rourke**_

* * *

 

  * **May 25, 2286, 0445AM EST**
  * **LabRynth Server Farm 32327**
  * **Chicago, Illinois**
  * **Aboveground**



Jareth sat at his corporate desk, doing his best not to appear bored, despite the late hour in the evening and the lack of work to complete. He sighed, scrubbing at his eyes as he poured the last contents of his ceramic mug into his mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste of cold coffee. It seemed that his code replacement for monitoring and rerouting the heat signature discrepancies that had begun to spike last week had worked a little too well, leaving him bored and with nothing to do. Since his boss hadn't given him a new project to tackle, he was left with staring at the clock for the last hour of his shift.

Rising with a groan, he looked over the monitor readings, satisfied with what he saw, before tugging on his coat and heading for the back break room. With the way the night was going, he needed more brain fuel if he was going to make it through the end of his shift awake and alert. Right now, he was minutes away from nodding off, which wouldn't bode well if he wanted to remain employed and aim for that promotion he put in for two weeks ago.

He shivered as he passed through the empty halls of the main floor to LabRynth Industries Headquarters, Site 204. He hated how cold they kept it in here, but never dwelled too long on  _why_. It gave him the heebie jeebies if he thought too long and hard about it. It was no longer just to keep the server farms cool - it was to keep something _else_ cool, something he didn't like to think about when trying to select what to drink to keep him awake. Something about cold bodies and consumption of food made him want to gag.

Waving at one of the night custodians that was busy dumping papers into a larger recycling bin that shared the same shift as he did, Jareth moved towards the break room at a casual pace, in no hurry to head back to his office. It wasn't his break hour, but his boss rarely checked his computer activity and if he didn't get _something_ with caffeine in him soon, he'd been in a lot worse trouble for falling asleep on the job.

Running a hand through his shoulder length blonde hair, he smiled faintly as he thought of his mother admonishing him over the phone last weekend about how he'd 'let himself go.'

 _'How will you ever find yourself a pretty young lady when you look like that?'_ She had barked over the static on the line, where he had dialed her from a cyber cafe two blocks from his condo. _'I fully expect you to bring a lovely young woman home with you when we celebrate Yule this season, really Jareth.'_

She had asked where he was - at the cyber cafe, unable to afford a real data plan to dial her from the safety of his apartment - and he had lied, which has seemed to satisfy her, allowing her to launch back into her tirade of wanting him to _'meet a nice girl so he could settle down and give her some grandchildren.'_

He didn't have the heart to tell her most nice girls didn't care for his type of looks where he was living these days - Aboveground - or that he most likely couldn't afford one, even if he _did_ manage to somehow snag one. He was too poor even be able to afford a personal data input device that would have allowed him to call from home, rather than the dingy cafe he had been sitting in, despite graduating top honors in the Data Warehousing Institute over a year ago, something that had taken him well over a decade to complete for what he specialized in. It wasn't that he didn't make sufficient money at his job, it was the expenses he shifted most of his income towards, something he refused to compromise on, for _anyone_. His work at LabRynth had been a labor of love and he was well compensated for it, to be fair, but the rising cost of living in the Aboveground, especially with family back home and their needs rising in expenditure back at his childhood home in the Underground -something only Jareth could provide for - was not. Most Aboveground women simply never understood and so he remained single - and if he was lonely, he could simply find a body to occupy his bed for the night. The more that happened, though, the more he felt hollow inside and simply chose his own company instead. 

Of course, he never told his mother any of this, who was already burdened with too much as it was at her age - an age still considered young by Fae standards.

He had let her rattle on for several minutes, and when his timer expiring warning came up on his side of the screen, counting down the seconds he had left with his mother in large crystal holograms about the inter-dimensional phone device, he had made a hasty excuse that he had to go and he would call her next week.

As always, a sadness lingered in her eyes that he couldn't seen to squash, no matter how chipper he seemed to her. She knew, he suspected, what he sacrificed for her, but it was an unspoken arrangement that they never mentioned it - not ever. Let the fantasy continue, as it were, and so far they had been. At the very least, his little brother seemed as innocent as ever, untouched by their family's struggles - which was a large part of why Jareth did what he did. _Let him stay an innocent child just a little longer,_ he wished most nights.

Flipping on the light switch by the break room door, he cursed softly and squinted at the sudden bright light against his eyelids and began digging through the cabinets for grounds and a filter when he noticed the coffee carafe was empty. It was probably the janitor's doing - not that he minded, as he usually didn't need more sustenance at this hour and it was too early for the morning crew to start their own. Unfortunately, there was none to be found - the janitor had likely not replaced the stock and he was too tired to find him - so he wandered over to the vending machine and placed his thumb along the print reader to select the next best thing: A sugary substitute to caffeine.

_Welcome, Jareth King. Please make your selection at any time._

"What I would like would be to have my shift over with, please." He spoke aloud to the machine's prompt, once more rubbing a hand over his face with a yawn.

_I do not understand this request. Please try again._

He chuckled at the robot's response, looking over his selection with a shake of his head. Of course it didn't understand, it was a machine without feeling - sort of how he felt right now. Looking over the panels, he decided on one and read it aloud. "I'd like one of the Peach Fizz Supremes, please."

_Peach Fizz Supreme incoming. Thank you for your order. Your account will be docked._

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Jareth as he waited for his soda, checking the time on his watch, not even wanting to think of the status of his bank account. A few minutes passed, making him think his bank account might be negative in balance, but eventually it dutifully spit out his drink, giving Jareth a moment to sigh in relief.  Popping the top and taking a slow measured sip, he crossed the vacant offices once more as he returned to his small domicile cube in the back area near the server farms. 

Everything should have been just fine - calm, peaceful, completely normal. Unfortunately, they weren't.

The first thing that came to his attention as the door to his small office swung open was the heat monitors blaring red, telling him there was a problem in a subsection of the server farm just down the hallway of his own building. _What the fuck? Hadn't he **just** fixed the code for that?_

He nearly dropped his drink as he ran over to his desk, murmuring a litany of "No, no, no, no,  _no!_  I checked that code four times!  _This can't be happening!_ " knowing the wrath he would face from his boss if his code happened to fail, before he saw another thing that screamed of wrongness. One of the specific tanks was losing oxygen pressure - and if  _that_ occurred, he would be out of a job and most likely shipped back Underground, with no references for a new job and no way to fund his family's rising costs.

 _Got to fix this,_ he thought frantically as he pulled up his software code, scanning through it rapidly, his soda sat aside and forgotten. Jerking his chair out and sitting down, he rapidly typed a few commands and scoured through what he had added to the mainframe, looking for errors. What he saw made him pause with a frown.

There was none - _not a single error_. Whatever was happening should _not_ be happening - it was _impossible_.

"The fuck? That's--not possible!" He whispered, completely confused. He knew the code of the mainframe, had read it and combed through it back and forth, ran plenty of test schema simulations - including with his own interjected code - and none had shown what he was seeing now. _How..?_

Still, no matter what he did, enhancing the code as best as he could, the heat signature in one of the tanks wasn't holding and the oxygen pressure was not stabilizing, only getting worse. Grabbing his lab keys from the side of his desk, he locked his computer and ran, sprinting down the hall, towards the section in question, deciding he would try manually adjusting the code at the specific tank's terminal.

Swiping his badge across the keypad, he jerked the door open and hurried along, ignoring all other tanks but the one at the end, flashing red. He skidded to a stop, turning the tank's monitor towards him with a harsh grip, frowning as he read over the terminal's statistics.

* * *

 

_Subject_12128232, Williams_S_

_Status_Unstable_

_VR_ERROR_

_Oxygen_Levels_90Percent_

_WARNING_EMERGENCE_AT_RISK_

* * *

 

"How the  _fuck_ …" Jareth muttered, looking over the subject's body patterns, frowning as he stared at the monitor. What he was seeing was simply...impossible. Quickly glancing at the black tank that offered no idea of the contents, he hurriedly pulled up the mainframe code and reviewed what he saw.

He blinked, his eyes widening, as he stared.

"That...not possible. _How_ ….?" His voice trailed off as he stared, seeing with his own eyes what he never thought could be done.

The _subject_ was rewriting the code. They shouldn't be _conscious_ , let alone able to do _that._

Quickly tapping the screen with his fingers, he plugged in bits of the bits of code that had been changed, watching the subjects bio readout as he did so. Once inputted, he sat back, expecting the numbers to return to normal - which they did, but only for a few seconds. Again, he watched in baffled disbelief as the code began rewriting once more.

"How in the  _hell?_ " He barked, scrubbing a hand over his face in frustration. Dimly, the warning prompts for the subject's oxygen levels came into play.

He hated to do it, but he saw no other way. Reaching into his pocket, he snagged the disc drive he kept on him and inserted it into the port. It was an experimental code he'd created over the past few weeks and shared with his team and boss - the one he was up for potential promotion over - which was meant only to be used in cases of emergency that would reboot the VR the subject was in play with - possibly affecting their psyche, but given the alternative of death or brain damage if they emerged outside of protocol - he was willing to take that chance.  Starting the code at the terminal, glancing at the tube the subject was in. "I'm sorry, but...I don't want you to die."

As it loaded, he looked back at the computer screen and followed the prompts given.

* * *

 

_Run_MazeFinder?_

_Hit_Enter_To_ACCEPT_

* * *

 

Hitting enter, he held his breath.

Seconds passed by, and he breathed a sigh of relief as the biometric readout showed steadily increasing numbers. So far, so good. It seemed the subject responded to the code and the biometrics once more read positive. Pulling the disc drive out of the port, he noted the tank number and headed back to his office after shutting down his access to the manual terminal. As always with cases like this, there would be an inquiry the following week, requiring detailed records and analysis to make sure it didn't happen again. _For the safety of the volunteers,_ his boss always told him. _We can't have the public worried our systems are faulty, Jareth. They must work, without fail, and ensure the safety of those who trust us with their lives._

 _At least this last hour didn't turn out to be boring after all,_ he supposed, as he finished writing up the new service flag entry, stretching his shoulders as he blinked blearily at the monitor.

"Jar boy!" A loud voice bellowed from the doorway, making him jump. He scowled, nearly knocking over his half-drank can of soda, looking over his shoulder at the next shift operator.

"Hoghead…" He muttered under his breath at the little man that approached the cube to the right of his own, watching the man stiffen and turn back his way, his eyes narrowed. He didn't understand why his next shift member always insisted on nicknames, but it was better than the 'Rat' nickname his other co-workers gave him at times. Still, the short man seemed to love startling him and calling him everything except his given name. So, in response - even if it was petty - he made up his own, never quite brave enough to say them loudly enough for the older man to hear.

"What'd you call me?" He hissed, looking ready to go to war. 

"Nothing, Mr. Hoggle." He covered up his faux paus with a bright false smile, glancing over his way. "Good morning to you, too. Have a good night so far?" He did his best to seem interested and happy to see his co-worker, who he'd never really liked but put up with because if he didn't, he knew Hoggle could easily rat him out to his boss, who he was chummy with.

"Eh, it's been alright. It's about time for you to head out, go on. I got this."

Jareth blinked, looking over his shoulder and staring at the clock. He was surprised to see his shift ended five minutes ago. He nodded, rising and logging out of his system, grabbing up his briefcase before pausing at the door.

"Oh, right...by the way, 12128232 gave me a little bit of a fit tonight. I couldn't stabilize it, so I had to run the Maze Finder program. Mind keeping an eye out on it for me? I'll check to see how it's doing tonight when I'm back in for my shift."

Perhaps it was because he was half dead on his feet, but he could have sworn for a minute he saw something akin to fear flicker in the back of the old man's eyes. Before he knew it, it was gone, Hoggle simply smiling at him with a nod.

"Sure, I can do that for you. Go on now, get some rest. You look beat."

Jareth waved, heading out of the office, watching Hoggle reach for a phone in a rush and dialing a number before glancing back his way with a smile before the door to the office slammed closed.


	2. Chapter 2

The blaring noise of an alarm shrieking in his ear had Jareth bolting up from the bed, groaning and slapping his hand blindly on the metal box adorning the side table near him. Instantly, the noise stopped.

He hissed, blinking against the glare of sunlight streaming in his eyes, barking out a "Blinds down!" command and an automated rolling noise whirled to his right, instantly turning the bright glare in the room to a muted dusk that bounced off the walls above his head, shielding the bed.

Rolling into a sitting position and tugging the sheets away from his chest, Jareth ran a hand through his tangled hair and sighed. Tipping his head to the side, he looked at the clock, noting the time display that floated above the metal box once more in eerie red crystals, briefly reminding him of his time with the odd tank in question during last night's shift. Dispelling the thought from his head, he noted the time and ordered the teleprompt to play in the background, unnerved by the silence in the room. He didn't have the patience or free time for a pet and the synthetic ones unnerved him too much, so the teleprompt it was. Instantly, across the room, a wall started to glow and the news began to play, on a preset muted level, in the room. He stared at the screen a few minutes, noting the familiar subheaders at the bottom of the display before dismissing the teleprompt entirely, just enjoying the silence being chased from the room as he stood, hearing the bed begin to lift and retract back into the wall, his couch rotating out and settling in its place.

_LabRynth Industries Breaks New Records of Volunteer Sign Ups: Join Today! Rest and play! Make Money while You Sleep! Call LabRynth Industries Today!_

_Human Representative Toby Williams admonishes the Dual World Governing Alliance and Their Endorsement of LabRynth Industries: "The evidence of the conditions these people are submerged in are deplorable, if one can take into account these independent reviews. I demand another investigation by my peers."_

_Fae and Human Rebellions on the Rise: Is Your District at Risk?_

_Aboveground and Underground Exchange Rates at All-Time Low! Wire Your Family Money Today!_

He still had a few hours before his shift, but he had promised to meet a friend for dinner and it was time to call his mother for the week. He groaned, immediately regretting making plans, preferring to have spent the next hour asleep before walking down to the cyber cafe,  _Bits & Bytes, _a few blocks over _._

Stretching, he padded across the cold laminate flooring to his bathroom, nearly tripping over the small robotic house cleaner as he went. "Damned goblin," he muttered, smiling faintly at the small  _beep-boop-beep_  the robot chirped at him as he walked by in response to his nickname for it.

Flipping on a light, once more wincing at the brightness and demanding in harsh tones for the lights to filter down by thirty degrees, he moved towards the shower and took the quickest option available, holding his hands up and gritting his teeth at the sudden blast of cold. Once more, heat and water cost an exorbitant amount of cash, and considering the other things on his ever-growing list of debts, he learned to deal with cold water and unheated floors.

Stepping out quickly, shivering and grabbing a towel, he moved to the bath sink and stared at himself in the mirror, turning his head faintly as he inspected himself. Even with cosmetic glamour modifications, supplied by the equipment in his medicine cabinet, Jareth King did not blend in. His fae heritage was obvious, even with the more subdued shape of his 'human-like' eyebrows and brown eyes, supplied by contacts. Underneath, he carried a blue mismatched gaze, something only common to fae. He absolutely refused to cut his hair to Aboveground standards. Grimacing at the name calling he would endure on the streets, as he lived in a human district, unable to afford anything better at his pay and the bills he had to pay on each month, he sighed and ran a comb through his wet hair, tying it up into a hasty knot atop his head before he checked to make sure his markings were hidden. He poked at the splash of fake skin, satisfied it would last a few more days, then quickly got dressed.

Grabbing his keys and work badge, he locked up the condo with the print reader on the front door and glanced at his watch. He had a few minutes before he needed to meet his friend at the noodle bar around the corner, so he went to check his mailbox by the entrance, skipping the back flight of stairs and heading for the front.

Nodding towards a few neighbors as he descended the stairs, as elevators always made him nervous, he noted how most ignored him but a few took the time to murmur warm greetings as he passed by. He smiled at those who didn't react badly to his presence but eventually, as he continued to descend the stairs from the eighth floor he resided on to the ground floor where the entrance and mail room was, he found himself once more thinking of Subject 2128232, wondering if Mr. Hoggle had been able to stabilize it before his shift. He was fascinated to see if the old man had figured out how the subject was re-writing the mainframe code and realized it was the first time he was actually interested in returning to work since he started his job at Site 204.

Turning the corner, not watching where he was going, he instantly plowed into the shoulder of one of the new tenants, two doors down from his.

"Hey, watch it!"

Jareth tensed, raising both hands as he backed up slowly, cursing under his breath as he realized which neighbor he'd happened upon. As luck would have it, it was one of the ones who had taken an immediate dislike to Jareth and with the man's violent outbursts, had Jareth scrambling for an excuse to cool the man's immediate temper.

The tall, broad-shouldered man glowered at him and stepped forward, shoving at one of Jareth's shoulders, making him stumble. He was a beast of a human and obviously against his kind, having made a scene the first time he ran into Jareth in the hallways. Jareth had done his best to avoid him since, but today was already proving to be a bad day.

_I really just should have hit snooze._

"Hey there, Luds. Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. I'll...just...be on my way." Jareth sheepishly smiled, trying to skirt past the husky brown-haired man. A large fist snaked out and grabbed onto his blazer, dragging Jareth up against him. Jareth cringed, both in fear and hesitation for what the man would do next. Jareth was lean and athletic, thanks to his late night swims at the condo public pool on the roof after his shifts, not stocky like Ludo Johnson, and he knew if the man chose to escalate their brief encounters into a physical altercation, he would not fare well.

"Watch it, you stupid fae punk. Disgusting bastards, can't stay where you belong, gotta come up here and ruin it for the rest of u-"

"Is there a problem here?"

Jareth and Ludo turned their heads, blinking in the direction of one of the older human tenants that lived three flights up. Jareth internally had taken to calling him 'The Wise Man' by the audacious hat he always wore. He dressed very respectfully, so whatever the man did, it paid well. He stood there, eyebrows raised, as he looked at Ludo with a subtle air of disdain. Despite Jareth hoping the poor man, who was one of the few to be kind towards him, didn't get dragged into this mess, whatever nonverbal message he sent to Ludo had the brute of a man letting him go and shuffling back a few steps.

"No problem," Ludo muttered, glaring at Jareth, promising violence later. Jareth simply remained silent, plastering a faint smile on his face.

"Yep, no problem," he murmured, keeping his eyes glued on the older man. The older man huffed, glaring over at Ludo.

"While Mr. King is too polite to say otherwise, I  _do_  think there's a problem. Mind your manners, Mr. Johnson, or else I shall talk to management.  _Am I clear?_ " The old man's tone brokered no arguments and Jareth listened while Ludo grunted then turned and stalked off, but not before plowing his shoulder into Jareth's, making him stumble and wince.

Straightening his blazer, he looked over at the old man and murmured a small thanks to him as he slipped by. The old man said nothing, simply heading towards the elevator, and Jareth finally found his mailbox, the original reason he had come down this way to begin with. Placing his thumb against the print reader, he sighed as he shifted through the envelopes, noting only bills. Slipping them into the inside pocket of his blazer, he locked the mailbox and headed out into the city.

* * *

 

"So, wait, you didn't say yes?"

Jareth blinked, the bottleneck of his beer poised at his lips, as he blinked incredulously at his friend. The noodle bar was fairly busy for a weekday early afternoon, and they were crammed in the back of the small restaurant, that was decorated to look like the streets of Tokyo. It was one of Jareth's favorite places in the area, so whenever Fergus wanted to meet up, this was their usual haunt.

"Nope," Fergus replied, drawing on his own bottle of Kirin Lager.

"You, sir, are a moron," Jareth laughed, disbelief etched into his face, as he wound another mouthful of noodles around his chopsticks. Shaking his head, he took a sip of his beer and set it aside, cramming a large bite of ramen in his mouth and chewed, muttering once he swallowed. "Next time a girl says that, you say  _yes_."

"Oh sure, Mister 'Way with Girls' over here is going to give me shit for turning down Nancy Yates," his friend scoffed, rolling his eyes, dunking a takoyaki in a bath of soy before bringing it to his mouth. Jareth nearly choked on his noodles, scowling at Fergus, before rolling his eyes.

"When you gonna ask out Raisa in the Mobile Application department, anyways? Every day I walk past, she's making 'goo-goo' eyes at you. She's into fae guys, I swear. She dated Oisin for over a year. She'd do you, you're way better looking that that dude. I hear she's not half bad in the sac, either."

That time, Jareth nearly spit up his food. He wiped at his chin from where a little broth had dribbled past his lips, torn between a laugh and a groan at his human friend's comments. "I am  _not_  asking out the woman that apparently every male in the department imagines what she's like in the sac. I do have  _some_  standards, Fergus."

"Seriously though, why don't you go out with me and the guys one night? Not all of us humans are complete assholes. I promise you'd have fun, prolly hook up with a chick or two, have a good time. What do you say?"

He could tell his friend was curious why he lived alone, barely had a social life, and always seemed out of funds. He tensed, then smiled and brushed off the kind gesture, knowing Fergus only meant well. He didn't want to get into his personal life with someone he had grown to like over the past few months and soil what they had between them: a casual, fun friendship built on mutual respect at their proficiency at their jobs. Besides, he wondered how silly he would sound if he let on he didn't want that kind of life. He was old fashioned and felt like one day, he'd meet the right girl, and everything would click.

And, if he was totally honest, he'd already gone two hundred years since his last encounter, what was a few hundred more?  _That_  had ended so badly, he wasn't exactly eager to try for more. Besides, he was fae, it wasn't like he was on a shortened time table like most humans that wanted to fuck, friend, or face off against every person they encountered, something he didn't exactly like to point out to the few that would associate with him.

Seeing his friend's stare, he sighed and shrugged a shoulder, sipping at his beer. "No thanks. Not that I don't appreciate the offer, I just have a lot on my plate right now with family."

"How's your mother?" He asked, draining his beer. Jareth shrugged.

"She's good. Speaking of, I need to call her soon. Same time, two weeks from now?" He asked, rising and flagging down a waitress to cover the tab.

Fergus shrugged off his hand. "You got last time, man, let me snag this one. Can't, remember? Got that conference in Phoenix, about the new tank system upgrades?"

Jareth blinked, having completely forgotten. " _Oh, right._  Good luck with that! I hope it goes well. It could mean big things for you if you get enough investors."

Fergus grinned, placing his thumb against the telereader that the waitress held out, settling their bill. "Thanks, man. I sure as shit hope so. I'm ready to blow this popsicle stand and see bigger things. If I get the funds, you better put your two weeks in, I need a programmer." He rose as well, shoving his arms through the light brown blazer that was draped across the back of his chair.

Jareth stared, his eyes going wide. "You're joking. Please tell me you're joking?"

 _With that kind of money…._ He didn't let himself get too excited, knowing Fergus sometimes embellished a little too much, but the possibilities had him double-taking.

Fergus grinned, clapping a hand against Jareth's shoulder. "Of course I'm serious, you moron. I've seen your code, it's a thing of beauty. I'll call you when I'm back in town, let you know how it goes. We'll even get you into a better district so that punk ass kid leaves you be."

Jareth sputtered, nodding, and gripped the dark-haired human's shoulder in appreciation. "Yes,  _yes!_  Definitely. Just drop by when you're back. I'll see you then?"

Fergus nodded, spotting someone else from work, slipping past him to say hello, and Jareth pulled his own blazer into place, stumbling out of the restaurant and heading towards the cyber cafe down the street. His head whirled at the offer Fergus just granted at him and he nearly missed the doors to  _Bits & Bytes_, so deep in thought.

Hastily stepping into the dimly lit overcrowded cafe, he waved at the store owner and slipped into a seat at the end of the far row, placing his thumb against the print reader and rubbing briefly at his eyes before punching in the number he knew by heart.

He looked up at the monitor and watched the static fill the screen, waiting for his mother to accept. After about twenty seconds of pure static, her blurry countenance appeared and he smiled. She was still beautiful all these centuries later, and he relaxed at the sight of her, noting she still seemed the same since the last time he called.

 _The meds seem to be working,_  he thought in relief.

"Hey, mother. How is everything? Did you get the money I sent?" He kept his tone low, sliding his finger once more over the print reader to seal himself in a small shield casing, to offer them privacy. "What did the doctors say during your checkup? How's Aiden?"

"My beautiful son," she smiled, leaning into the monitor viewer, her face becoming overly large. He chuckled, telling her how to enhance her view on her side, rather than leaning in too close to the viewer. After a few minutes, she seemed to once more remember what he always told her each time he called, and she was once more a few steps back, no longer too large on his side of the screen. "Everything is fine. Yes, I got the funds, thank you. It was enough to cover the expenses you told me about. Aiden is fine, he's at school now. He misses you."

Jareth smiled, thinking of his younger brother, no doubt giving his professors hell. While Jareth was smart, Aiden was  _brilliant._ It simultaneously made him both proud and petrified at what that would mean for them later. He noted his mother had yet to tell him about her latest screening and he prompted her again with a frown. "And the doctor?"

His mother smiled, waving a hand, but he swallowed. That did not bode well and he leaned forward, his brows knitting, as his tone turned sharp. " _Mother?_  The tests?"

"You know how those men are. Your father was always right, they're just billing me to tell me I need more medication. It's always  _more meds, more treatment, more appointments._  I think we should get a second opinion."

He felt his world collapse at her chirpy tone, staring at her as his expression froze, unable to say anything. His mother didn't look at him, staring at something off in the distance, and he felt his insides freeze.

_No, not again. Not again! Aiden…._

"How much more medication? How much more treatments? Do they think...it will stop the progression?"

He swallowed, his tongue feeling thick, as he watched his mother draw a steady breath, then nod. She knew as well as he did, there  _was_  no such thing as second opinions, not for what she had.

"Tell them I will have the funds next week." He replied, offering a tight smile. His mother turned, looking into the viewer with a sharp glare.

"Jareth, you already do too much…"

" _Tell them, mother."_ It was the only time he ever interrupted or used a harsh tone with her when they talked, so she simply sighed and nodded. He would figure it out, he always did.

"Have you met anyone lately?"

Jareth laughed then, closing his eyes and rubbing a hand across his brow, feeling the stirrings of a headache. It was always her way of lightening the mood after a particularly rough conversation regarding her illness, and he shook his head. "No, mother. I haven't. I told you, most that live near me are human and don't care for fae men."

His mother snorted at that. "Whyever not? You're so much more attractive than humans. Surely some female up there has a modicum of good taste?"

_Not bloody likely. Besides, try arguing the 'fae look better than humans' point in a bar on a Saturday night and then see if you can walk out with all your body parts intact._

"As much as I  _live_  for these chats about my non-existent love life, I need to get to work. Same time next week?" He looked back at the viewer and saw his mother staring at him with a sad expression. She immediately dropped it and smiled.

"You're an amazing man, Jareth King. One day, someone will realize that. Yes, dear, next week is fine. I love you."

"Love you too, mother." He saw the timer warning begin to flash and laid a hand against the viewer, staring at her until the line went to static, slowly rising from his chair.

Glancing at the clock by the door, he headed out to catch the train to Site 204.

* * *

 

Fumbling at the door in the dead hallway, he looked over his shoulder, frowning at the lack of activity. Usually at this hour, there was still quite a bit of technicians about, only losing employees the later the hour. Shrugging a shoulder, he let himself into his office, then walked across the darkened room to set his usual coffee and log into his computer.

Suddenly, he felt the cold hard metal barrel of a gun pressed against his temple, with the click of the chamber being readied. Stilling, he slowly raised his hands, blind panic hitting him, making his tongue taste the bitter flare of fear in the back of his throat.  _Fuck me, of all days..._

"What...do you want?" He murmured, not daring to move.  _I_ _ **really**_ _should have hit the snooze button..._

"I want you to get her _out_ ," hissed Mr. Hoggle, making Jareth's eyes go wide when he recognized the voice. "You ran the damned Maze Finder program, you bastard. She's stuck.  _Get her out._ "

 _What the fuck is going on?_ His mind whirled to yesterday, to subject 2128232, and he stilled.

"Mr. Hoggle? What are you...who...what's going on?" He whispered, utterly confused but nervous. He had too much riding on this job and couldn't risk getting killed or fired, not after what he had learned today.

_My family…_

"Put this on, plug it into the computer. You're going in and you're not coming out til you get her out. Either that, or I splatter your brains all over these damned walls. Got it?" Mr. Hoggle hissed, throwing a pair of high-end VR goggles at him. Jareth blinked, looking down at them, then tried to look back at Mr. Hoggle, but the man slammed the butt of his gun against Jareth's temple, making him see stars.

 _Great, just fucking great._ Not knowing what else to do, he did his best to calm the man behind him and raised his hands in surrender.

" _Ok, ok._ Whatever you say. Calm down, I'm doing it." He nodded slowly, feeling the warm trickle of blood on his brow, plugging in the VR goggles and running the necessary software to connect him to the tank housing subject 2128232. Once the needed software was ready, he motioned nervously to the chair near the door.

"What?" Mr. Hoggle brusquely asked, pressing the gun to his head.

"I...need that chair. To go in. Please." He waited, and felt the gun pull away from his temple, watching as Mr. Hoggle moved quickly to do as he said. While he was distracted, Jareth ran a replication program, sending the stream to his home email to investigate later. He didn't want to risk telling his superiors until he knew exactly what the hell was going on. His mother's chirpy tone once more echoed back at him and he knew he couldn't risk the probation. Not right now, not with her recent screening.

Mr. Hoggle shoved the VR chair towards him and Jareth sank into it, slipping on the special gloves, jacket, and boot covers before activating it for VR immersion. Frowning as he eyed the older man, he sighed and slipped on the goggles.

* * *

 

_ACCEPT_MAZE_FINDER_VR_IMMURSION?_

_PRESS_ENTER_TO_COMMENCE_

* * *

 

"Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath, reaching out with the gloves in the blank gray space he found himself in, hitting the glowing orbital 'enter' that hovered in the distance.

As he did, he felt himself slide into another dimension.

_Welcome to the Labyrinth, Jareth. Please proceed to enter the Maze Finder program._

Glancing at the bright golden door ahead in the virtual reality he was about to enter, he sighed and turned the handle and stepped through the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This section I've decided to split into a few chapters and not write as long-winded chapter lengths for now. Enjoy! It was really fun re-writing this famous scene. If it's not obvious, I've decided to keep this whole fic third person limited from Jareth's POV. Let me know what you think!

The first thing he noticed as he stepped through was the blinding amount of sunlight. Sand shifted under his feet as he squinted, cursing softly under his breath and jerking his face away from the bald sun overhead.

Once his sight adjusted, he blinked slowly and looked around. He was standing on a small sandy hill, on a parched stretch of dry and half-dead land, overlooking a massive Labyrinth in the distance. The monolith was surrounded by a large stone wall and he could make out the movement of a female with loose dark hair trudging back and forth at the gate, raising her hands in exasperation.

Looking around, seeing no others in sight, he closed his eyes and flipped his eyesight view to read the digital code. Once more, he opened his eyes and looked around and confirmed what he suspected to be true - everything but the girl was part of the program. Mr. Hoggle's words flashed back at him.

_I want you to get her_ _**out** _ _. You ran the damned Maze Finder program, you bastard. She's stuck._ _**Get her out** _ _._

He frowned, not having ever interacted before with a subject while under immersion of the VR programs his company deployed. For all he knew, she would simply consider him part of the maze and he wondered if he should interact with her as such. He'd read stories about other subjects not handling the implications that the world they'd grown to know and trust was, in fact, not real.

Sighing, he made a decision, and prompted the program to review the current settings and theme being deployed. As he scanned the log entry, his lips thinned. It seemed the subject saw herself lost in a mythical setting as a heroine that needed to search for her way out of the maze - by beating a challengeable foe. He looked down at himself and the business casual clothing he wore and let out a faint laugh.

_Me? Jareth King - be a frightening villain? That'll be the day._

Still, he remembered that Mr. Hoggle had a gun poised on him and was most likely reading his biometrics right now, wondering why he hadn't moved from his spot upon entry into the program. Just as quickly, he reminisced about his younger brother and mother back home in the Underground and knew he didn't have a choice.

Steeling his spine, he splayed his arms wide and summoned a suitable outfit, feeling cold hard leather and armor mold over his form. If it was a villain the subject wanted, it was a villain she was going to get.

Opening his eyes, he spotted the girl sitting on the ground near the gated entrance, her head pressed against her knees, looking slightly defeated. Briefly, he felt pity for her, but schooled his face and used the VR program to move him from the sandy hill to a mere few feet away, making sure to adjust the windflow around the girl to drag her attention to him.

She gasped, her head jerking up, green eyes wide with surprise and fear. He stood there, keeping that cold sneer he'd conjured in place on his face, while he inspected what he saw before him. A healthy dose of internal surprise also rolled through him as he noted her youth.

_She's just a girl. Why is she part of the program? We don't allow children volunteers…_

"You're him, aren't you? You're the  _Goblin King!_ " Her soft tone, a combination of fear and excitement, brought him out of his thoughts. "I want my brother back, please, if it's all the same."

 _Baby brother?_ He crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow, as he internally pulled up the program once more. It seemed that was the crux of her quest, making him internally groan.  _Now I'm a villain_ _ **and**_ _a baby snatcher, this just keeps getting better and better._

The girl simply stared, tears shimmering in her eyes, and he scowled, hoping he appeared menacing enough.

"What's said is said," is all he could reply with, giving her a calculated once-over. He was proud at how frigid his tone was, despite wanting to scream at her that this was all a program.  _You were so easily able to manipulate the main VR, why not this one? What's different?_

"But...I didn't mean it!" She gasped, tears spilling past her cheeks. She sniffled and glared but kept most of her expression schooled, clearly too afraid of him to push more forcefully in her demands he produce said mystery child.

For some reason, that casual flippant response reminded him so much of something Aiden would say, brief amusement must have shined in his eyes as he smirked and raised both brows. " _Oh?_  You  _didn't_?"

Her large green eyes shuttered, growing dark, as her lower lip trembled. "Please…where is he?"

Jareth grit his teeth and adjusted his gloves, annoyed at having to wear this ridiculous outfit under a blazing sun. Despite it being a program, it certainly felt real enough, and he casually adjusted their grip as he flashed her a glare. "You know very well where he is."  _He's at the center of this fucking maze you conjured, stupid girl. Why else am I standing here bantering with you?_

This time, he didn't even have to struggle to conjure up a sharp tone. He was growing antsy and panicked.  _Just how long is this going to take? My shift ends in seven hours. This can't take longer than that…_

"Please bring him back, please…" She sobbed, scooting forward on the ground, the doe-eyed look in her eyes almost making him falter. He stared, stepping forward, watching her stiffen but not move away. He held out a hand and after a few seconds of hesitation, she took it. He pulled her to a stand and she quickly stepped back a few paces, staring at him in renewed hope.

"Sarah…" He sighed, quickly catching her name from the VR program specs, looking her over.  _What if I got her to go back to the main VR? She was easily able to write over that code, perhaps that's the solution here._ His decision made, he took a few more steps forward, closing the gap between them, keeping his hands casually at his hips so she wouldn't think he was going to grab her, his glittering cape brushing against his back as he walked. "Go back to your room, play with your toys and your costumes. Forget about the baby."

Behind her, a portal door to the main VR began to glimmer and take shape. He kept his eyes centered on her, sharply focused, hoping she took the bait. He grit his teeth and glared when he heard her reply and watched her shake her head. "I can't…"

Growing desperate, he quickly held up a hand, not wanting his small sliver of success to escape, and conjured a perfectly formed crystal in his palm. It pulsed briefly, glimmering, and whether the girl realized it or not - it was the door handle to the glimmering portal in the distance.

"I've brought you...a gift…" He smiled, tipping his head to the side.  _Take it, girl._ _ **Take what I'm offering you.**_

"What is it?" She whispered, her eyes once more growing shadowed and skeptical. He hurried forward in his supplication of the proffered gift, determined to coax her into touching it.

"It's a crystal, nothing more…" Hoping she wasn't able to pick up on the faint glimmer within it. She'd already proven able to rewrite main VR code, he wasn't sure if she could adapt here and do the same. He began to spin it casually in his hand with the aide of the VR program to distract her from the contents inside. "But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your  _dreams._  But this is not a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby…"

Something in her eyes shifted and he stopped breathing, daring to hope, slowing the roll of the crystal in his hands and once more holding it out towards her. "Do you want it?"

She seemed torn, her fingers twitching, and he smiled, a tight-lipped, feral gleam in his eyes.  _She's going to take it. Take it, girl._ _ **Take it!**_

"Then forget the baby…" He whispered, hoping she would let go of her frivolous quest and return to the main VR, where he could appease Hoggle and remove her with much more relative ease. If she was in fact a fifteen-year-old, he could understand why Mr. Hoggle wanted her out. This was abuse, plain and simple, and he was shocked and dismayed to learn his superiors knowingly immersed an underage subject.

"I can't…." She whispered, her eyes shimmering once more with tears, and he almost lost it, clenching the crystal so hard, the tell-tale whisper of cracks formed along the VR manifestation. "It isn't that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but I want my brother back. He must be so scared…"

 _Idiot girl!_ _ **IDIOT!**_ _LOOK WHAT I'M OFFERING YOU!_ His thoughts raged and before he could catch himself, watching that portal out of the corner of his eye fade back into the program and vanish, his window gone when the girl made her decision, he twisted the crystal in his palm, forming a snake, hoping she would sense the threat for what it was.

 _If you go in there, I can't guarantee you'll get out. You're not the only one with real stakes at play here!_ He wanted to shout it, scream at her, but knew he couldn't risk it, and only hope he frightened her enough she'd stop and reconsider his offer. If he could change her mind, the portal would reappear, he was sure of it.

Taking the snake in his hand and stretching it to full length, he caught her frightened stare and sneered at her.  _Be the villain she wants you to be if that's what it takes to get her out of here. Do it, Jareth. Do what you have to._

"Don't defy me…" He hissed, throwing the snake at her. The girl screamed, stumbling back as the creature caught in her hair, and in a flash of pity, he quickly commanded the VR program to shift it to a harmless goblin-like creature. It giggled, flashing her a toothy grin, then quickly vanished. She blinked, having fallen onto the ground again in her efforts to get the offending item off her, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"You're no match for me, Sarah…" He warned, stepping forward, holding her gaze with a firm, cold one.

Still, despite everything he'd done, she somehow managed to dust herself off and rise to her feet, thrusting her chin out as she glared up at him, tears and all. "But I have to have my brother back!"

His veins froze, knowing he'd made the wrong choice in this power play. He'd lost and the portal was gone. Rolling his eyes, he turned, swallowing when she couldn't see, fear flickering in his eyes as he looked up at the gates. They rumbled open, dust coating them both as the large doors swung open on rusty hinges. What laid beyond was new territory for them both. When he looked back at her, he made sure only his anger and resentment showed.

"He's there, in my castle, at the center of the Labyrinth. Do you still want to look for him?"

Sarah stepped up beside him and peered past him, frowning, but turning to meet his gaze. He was startled at the look of iron-hard determination flashing back at him.  _What manner of girl are you?_

Something in him pleaded with her to listen to him, despite being surprised and impressed at the sheer amount of willpower she displayed. " _Turn back,_  Sarah. Turn back before it's too late."

She stiffened but looked past him again, conviction flashing in her firm profile. He felt his shoulders briefly sag, knowing what her response would be before she said it. Her words only reconfirmed what he feared. " _I can't._  Don't you understand that I  _can't?"_

 _You stupid, foolish, stubborn, amazing girl…_ In another time, another place, someone like her would frighten him. Here, he had to be the strong one, so he simply subtly shook his head.

"What a pity…" He murmured, frowning, giving her a smirk when the girl once more looked his way. Quickly, he decided to set rules, so he'd stand a chance of getting her out well before his shift ended.

"You have seven hours in which to solve the Labyrinth, or your baby brother becomes one of us... _forever_." He conjured a clock interface that resembled an old-fashioned antique clock, setting the hands appropriately, using his finger to adjust them, just for a touch of the whimsical, given their setting.

She whirled, her eyes wide as it fell towards the clock, but he chose that moment to leave her - hoping the panic he saw in her face would quickly have her giving up, accepting the crystal token from him that would allow them both to escape this nasty VR and into the main VR she could easily overwrite.

Casting himself to the castle in question at the center of the VR, he stumbled onto his makeshift throne and glanced about, looking down at himself with a grimace. Shifting back to his business clothes, he used the VR search feature to find and observe her.

"Come on, girl. Beat me or accept the token, I don't care which,  _just pick one_. Let's get this over with."

Sighing, he sat back and watched, looking up briefly at the room, in the event Mr. Hoggle was observing his biometrics from the office room.

"I'm  _trying_. You didn't tell me she'd be this stubborn."

Scrubbing a hand across his face, he watched the girl begin her challenge, deciding when and where it would be best to throw her some obstacles to deter her.


	4. Chapter 4

Jareth stared at the girl in question through another VR search screen, peering into the annoyingly small crystal sphere the VR specs required him to use to study her. Running a hand through his hair with trembling fingers, he tried to not let panic take over, but when his eyes hovered in the vicinity of the clock he'd set up to remind him of their time spent so far in the maze, he felt it seize him again.

He lifted his eyes, looking around the empty throne room, fearful for how Mr. Hoggle was taking this from the office room they shared, still remembering the man had the business end of a cold gun barrel pointed firmly at his chest. As if in reaction to the memory, his ribs pinched tightly above his right breast, making him wince and rub his fingers across the spot.

Lowering his eyes back down to the girl, he frowned as he tried to think of what to do next. He'd already tried various malware insertions - first, with the worm, which she'd conversed amicably with enough, but not enough to let the malware take root. He kept at it, spinning up other various types of corrupting software as she moved on, hoping one would take hold with the girl's code insertion in the mainframe and perhaps damage the VR enough to cast them back into the main VR system where the girl easily could adjust the code herself. Still, for some odd reason, they never took. It was almost as if she was purposefully ignoring them, remembering back to yesterday, when he'd stared at the main VR code from his office in sheer disbelief, blown away at what she was capable of.

Shaking his head, he cursed softly and sighed, knowing he was running out of time.

He had manipulated the VR code enough to steer her towards a set of doors, the maze closing behind her and offering her little choice but to interact with his malware - the guards with their riddles, then the helping hands with their demands she choose a specific path, 'up' being what her logical side  _should_  have picked, the hands ready and willing to deploy his latest attempt to corrupt the VR. Once more, the girl chose the exact  _opposite_  of what he had expected and now, she sat, sniffling, her knees pulled up to her chest, from a conjured oubliette at the bottom of the hole the hands had cast her into.

 _Now what?_ He sighed inwardly, staring into the crystal and running another trembling hand through his hair, at a loss. He knew, if he appeared again, she'd simply demand for her brother - this conjured subconscious want in this VR she'd spun from her deepest fantasy - the one thing he  _couldn't_  produce for her.

Suddenly, the space to his left shimmered and he tensed, wary of what was about to appear. Shock suffused his face when he stared down into the irate glowering face of Mr. Hoggle once more, this time in a more suitable attire for the fantasy setting they had been thrust into. He gestured at him with anger. " _Why the hell are you just sitting there, King?_ I said to get her  _out,_  not sit on you ass!"

"I've been trying!" He yelled, casting a helpless hand towards the crystal, where Mr. Hoggle's gaze shifted. He frowned, glancing back at Jareth, gritting his teeth before he stalked forward. The man might have been small, but Jareth was frightened by the look in his eyes.

"I may have had to join you in this blasted VR,  _but make no mistake_ , if she doesn't make it out of this, you won't be leaving this office room with a heartbeat." His tone implied that he was deathly serious.

"Look," Jareth started, not caring that his voice trembled, showcasing his fear, pointing to the VR search crystal and adjusting the time logs, so the man could see his previous attempts. He  _was_  afraid - not only for his own life, but what would happen to his mother and little brother if he failed to send them funds. Failure was not an option, but he needed to convince the man that he  _was_  trying his best, no matter how things appeared. "I've already tried a few malware insertions, see? She is easily able to override the main VR, but here - it's like she's purposefully not accepting the payload. I...can't explain it, what's special or significant about this VR that she ignores the prompts, I don't know, but  _examine the damn code_ if you don't believe me. I'm  _trying_  and so far, nothing's working."

Mr. Hoggle's gaze narrowed as he snatched the crystal from Jareth's grip and observed what Jareth had done so far, scanning the entries, his lips thinning as he read through the code and saw with his own eyes what he'd attempted thus far. When his eyes glanced up at Jareth, he shrugged helplessly.

"What about a logic bomb with a polymorphic virus? That way, she won't be able to easily cast off the malware insertion." Mr. Hoggle muttered, scrubbing at his chin. "You've attempted several simpler viruses and worms, but you should know by now she's smarter than your average girl. You need to up your ante…." Mr. Hoggle cast a look over him, contempt kicking the side of his mouth up into a cruel smile as he looked over Jareth's business attire with a sneer. "...Goblin King."

Before Jareth could reply, his eyes going wide at what Mr. Hoggle suggested, the man tossed the crystal back at him and Jareth struggled to catch it. He blinked, watching as Mr. Hoggle tipped his head to the side, seemingly thinking. Casting his eye back towards Jareth, he suddenly studied him with intensity. "What's your favorite fruit?"

"Pardon?" Jareth asked, blinking slowly. "My favorite...fruit?"

"Yes, you fool,  _your favorite fruit._ " Mr. Hoggle snapped, tapping his wrist then pointing to the clock. "Tick, tock."

"Peaches…" Jareth blurted, not sure what to make of Mr. Hoggle's question. "Why?"

"Nevermind that for now," he replied blithely, casting a glance over Jareth's attire. "Change into something more suitable to that ridiculous title, we're going to try something together first. If  _that_  doesn't work, we'll revisit the idea of your...fruit."

The suggestion made Jareth intensely uncomfortable, but he did what Mr. Hoggle suggested after he barked a few subtle orders and vanished from sight. Using the VR prompts, he positioned himself just as Mr. Hoggle instructed, underneath a cloak and bone mask in a quiet dimly-lit tunnel near the oubliette the girl found herself in, and nervously gripped the tin cup in his hands. Counting down inwardly in his head, he waited until he heard their voices, then executed the proper code to conjure a crystal at just the right time, instructing it to roll towards him and land with a soft thud in the bottom of his cup.

"Uh oh…" He heard the girl murmur, fear and uncertainty tinging her voice.

 _Here goes nothing,_ he sighed, summoning all his inner strength as he looked up after the crystal landed home then dissolved back into the VR mainframe. " _Ah,_  what do have here?"

"Um...uh... _nothing_!" Mr. Hoggle struggled to reply, faux fear making his voice tremble so well, Jareth almost found himself believing it was real. He swallowed under the mask, remembering back in the real world who  _really_  had the upper hand in this situation.

Gritting his teeth, he stood, casting off the bone mask and blue cloak with a vicious shrug, sneering between them both from where the stood at the junction of two tunnels meeting his position, holding up the mask before roughly tossing it down on the dirt floor. "Nothing?  _Nothing? Nothing..tra la la?_ "

The sound of his own voice sounded ominous as it echoed against the cold stone walls of the tunnels, at least bringing him some relief he sounded threatening enough. Underneath his gloves and the glitzy outfit, he was sweating bullets.  _Gods, I'm not made for this kind of thing. Please be over soon._

Mr. Hoggle swallowed, but when the girl was occupied with staring at him, the older man cast him a warning glare. "Your... _Majesty_. What a nice  _surprise_." While the girl couldn't sense it, Jareth was easily able to pick up on the subtext of the conversation at hand.

_Pick it up a notch, King. You're wasting my time._

Forcing a lupine grin he didn't feel, Jareth kept his expression schooled into amused contempt, willing his body to be still despite his heart pounding painfully in his chest. He stood there, in yet another ridiculous outfit, this time wearing a shredded leather jacket with metal shoulder ornamentation, a white poet's shirt, and grey trousers and boots. He decided to simply leave his hair in the state he'd worked it up into, feeling it move as he peered down at the smaller man, most likely back to its natural state. Since joining the VR, he removed the impression of the human-like fake skin and his contacts, figuring his fae heritage would simply add to the VR appeal and the role he was to play.

"Hello, Hedgewart," he replied, keeping his tone menacing, enjoying the small satisfaction as he watched the man's eyes narrow briefly before the girl leaned forward and corrected him.

"It's Hogwart," she stuttered, her eyes wide as she looked him over, missing the bristling of Mr. Hoggle beside her.

" _Hoggle_ ," he seethed, looking briefly at the girl, his eyes softening, before he glanced back at Jareth, slowly playing up the fear card once more in the way his voice pettered of, then fell silent.

"Hoggle, could it be that you're  _helping_  this girl?" He drawled softly in the silence that followed, narrowing his gaze as he tipped his head to the side, praying he looked the part of the villain he was supposed to play. He saw the girl tense, clasping his hands behind his back as he leaned forward, hoping to activate the girl's instinctive need to protect the seemingly helpless friend she'd made and - if everything went according to plan - would accept his crystal with the code to return to the main VR.

" _H-Helping?_  In what sense?" Mr. Hoggle replied, filling the silence that followed when the girl didn't react, continuing to play up the 'helpless friend' act.

"Helping in the sense that you're leading her towards the castle," Jareth replied with a growl, taking a small step forward. By some sheer grace, he didn't stumble, feeling the girl stiffen once more. He hoped she made a move soon, before he passed out from the rapid pulse drumming inside his chest.  _I am not meant for this stuff._

Mr. Hoggle, for his part, backed up a step, his eyes widening as his arms raised in fear. "No,  _no_! I was taking her back to the beginning, Your Majesty!"

Jareth tipped his head towards the girl, waiting to see her reaction. The concern that teetered there fled and was replaced instantly with anger as her gaze moved from Jareth to Mr. Hoggle. " _What?"_

Mr. Hoggle ignored her, trembling as he stepped forward, keeping his head low and prattling on, ignoring the girl's glare, his voice dropping just enough that Jareth leaned down, studying the man with adequate predatorial interest to have the girl's stance once more shifting between concern and outrage. "I told her I was going to help her solve the Labyrinth, a little trickery on my part, but - "

" _Higgle_ ," Jareth interrupted, once more purposefully pronouncing the man's name wrong, standing and stepping forward, a threatening glare in his eyes, watching the man back up hastily.  _Is it wrong I kind of enjoy this part?_

"Hoggle…" The man replied timidly, his eyes wide. Briefly, Jareth had to admire his acting skills. He looked legitimately terrified.  _Damn, he's good at this._

" _Yes,"_  Jareth continued on, interrupting him once more, making sure that enough venom laced each word he said next to set the girl's protective instincts into overdrive, "If I thought  _for one second_ that you were betraying me, I'd be forced to suspend you  _head first_ into the  _bog of eternal stench._ "

" _No, Your Majesty!_ " Mr. Hoggle howled, dropping to his knees, looking up, stark terror in his eyes. Even as he said the words - bog of eternal stench - Jareth inwardly snorted.  _What kind of dumbass name is that? I can't believe he suggested it._ Hoggle howle on, sounding utterly panicked. " _Not the eternal stench!_ "

At that moment, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, the sober realization that if this  _didn't_  work, they were going to have to result to more serious malware or - alternatively - Jareth would be dead, struck him. He wasn't sure whether to laugh in hysterics or cry, maybe both. His gut turned hard, cold, and he resisted the urge to vomit.

"Oh  _yes,_ Hoggle!" He sneered, shoving the man away before he turned, still feeling the girl's indecision. That mixture of fear and concern still shined in her eyes, but he was dismayed to see that willful determination still there as well. When he caught her gaze, she stared back, making his insides shrivel faintly in fear.  _This isn't working._ _ **Fuck.**_ _What now?_

"And  _you_ , Sarah...how are you enjoying my Labyrinth?" He murmured, his tone dancing between suggestive - which mildly repulsed him, given her apparent age - and threatening, as he moved towards her, pressing her against the tunnel wall, invading her personal space as much as he dared.

She stared back at him and suddenly, he saw a glimmer of jaded intelligence there. A ghost of a smile gleamed back at him, and for the briefest of moments, he was aware that he might be horribly out of his league with this mysterious girl.  _What ARE you?_

Her eyes narrowed as she thrust her chin up, stepping forward a few inches, pressing closer than he expected. His eyes briefly widened before he could still the reaction and she smirked, noticing his swallow, as she murmured her next words so softly, he had to strain to hear them.

"It's a piece of cake, Jareth." She whispered, making the hairs on the nape of his neck rise.  _Wait - how does she know my name? I never told her my name…_

"Really?" He replied coolly, struggling to stick to his act, forcing himself to flash her a sharp-toothed smile despite the panic that threatened to explode out of him, ruining his ruse. He looked down, letting his eyes roll over her form, hoping the shift of his gaze dragged her attention away from the brief spasm that shook his face while he got control of himself once more. Suddenly, he decided to test her mettle, turning and pointing, the VR responding to his prompt, the clock he'd shown her at the beginning of the Labyrinth once more appearing. "Then how about upping the stakes, hm?"

Moving his finger, he dwindled down the amount of hours she had, nearly halving the time left for the girl to reach the center. She stared, the small subtle shift in her almost completely disappearing, making him even more frightened and confused, as she shifted from confident adversary and back into a helpless girl.

"That's not  _fair!_ " She gasped, glancing back at him with the dismayed look of a helpless victim that opposed her treatment.

Committed, he pushed on, glaring at her with just enough frustration to be mistaken as menace, the action making her back up as he shoved off the wall, moving past her. "You say that  _so often_ , I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

Turning, he looked between them both, Mr. Hoggle's anger briefly flashing in his eyes, but understanding too - realizing now what Jareth had implied - it was not turning out to be a simple task, removing the girl from the VR she'd conjured.

Deciding to push her limits again, he smirked as he conjured another VR crystal in his hand, implanting a new code change that - gods willing - would be enough to send the girl into hysterics, accepting the token that would kick them out of this place. "So the Labyrinth's a piece of cake, is it? Well, let's see how you deal with  _this little slice._ "

Throwing it behind him, feeling the crystal disintegrate into the VR mainframe and manifest as a whirring contraption of blades, Jareth swallowed, closing his eyes and biting his lower lip, once more placing himself back at the castle throne room, watching from yet another crystal to see how his plan played out.

"Please fucking work," he whispered weakly, watching with a terrified expression, as he sagged into the throne seat, suddenly losing the strength to stand. If he made it through this, he'd take whatever job Fergus would offer, pay potential bedamned and sever ties as quickly as he could with LabRynth Industries. Clearly, their closet skeletons had closet skeletons.

* * *

 

It didn't work and he wanted to scream, pacing in a frantic circle in the throne room, staring into the VR crystal in his palm. Briefly, he felt Mr. Hoggle return, glaring over at the man, who this time didn't look quite as menacing, simply holding up his hands in silent agreement.

"So…" The man started, his voice still coarse, but slightly softer. "You were right, it seems. She's dug in like a damned tick. No matter what I tried, nothing worked. I think…" He sighed, closing his eyes and tugging off the red skullcap he'd donned since entering the VR. "We're going to have to do it...the logic bomb and polymorphic code."

He opened his eyes and looked over at Jareth, his expression becoming clouded and dark. "You able to do that? Make the virus so adaptable it'll have to work, without damaging her own code?"

Jareth blinked, his eyes widening. The man was serious. He swallowed, thinking wildly through several types of viruses he'd interacted with before, struggling to respond with an adequate answer. "I...think so. I mean, I've never deliberately made malware before, but I've worked with enough to recognize the traits and proper components."

"You graduated top of your class, Jareth. You're capable," Mr. Hoggle snarled, his merciless tenacity back, startling him out of his reverie. He blinked again, shock briefly splashing over his face.  _Why do these people know so much about me? I never told him that!_

"Who the fuck  _are_  you people? Who is  _she_? What's going on? Why do I feel like I'm being framed? Listen, I have - " He started, only for Mr. Hoggle to interrupt his brief moment of confidence.

"We  _all_  do, asshole. We  _all_ have stakes here! You think you're the only one with problems? Now - can you do it or not? I need her out  _now_ , Jareth.  _Right now._  Don't make me follow through on what I said earlier," Mr. Hoggle barked back, his voice filled with fury and contempt, eyes wild. "You have  _no idea_  what I am capable of."

 _He's insane. This whole thing is insane. How did this happen? Why now, why me?_ His thoughts were hectic, one question after the next filling his mind, as he stared at the sincerity of the man's expression. He swallowed, understanding that Mr. Hoggle was deadly serious.

"What guarantee do I have that...if I do this...you won't kill me?" He whispered, fear lacing his tone, as he looked at the abstentious man beside him.

"You're just going to have to trust me, King." Mr. Hoggle replied calmly, steadily meeting his gaze. "I don't want to kill you, boy, but I will if I have to."

Turning, he peered into the VR crystal Jareth still had in his palm to study the girl, a resigned expression on his face. "Get to work," he growled, dissipating from view, no doubt to return to the girl's side.

Jareth sighed, trembling, fighting the urge to be sick, and settled back on the throne chair, pulling up the VR mainframe specs and his own separate software and set to work.

* * *

 

He did it, staring with no small measure of discomfort at the perfectly formed fruit in his palm. It glimmered briefly, splashes of numeric code brightening along it's furry skin before fully winking out of existence - appearing in the VR as a simple unassuming peach.

He looked up, stretching, donning the same measure of outfit as he had donned earlier, then met Hoggle at the specific location coordinates he sent him. He was there, already pacing, looking up and throwing his arms wide in exasperation. " _Fucking finally,_  King. We're on a time table, unless you've somehow forgotten that."

"Give me a damn break, Mr. Hogg - What's your first name?" Jareth suddenly asked, interrupting his own tirade. He stared down at the short older man and raised his eyebrows, peach in hand.

Mr. Hoggle glowered, thrusting his fist out. "Give it to me."

"Your name!" Jareth shouted, suddenly needing to know.

"Henry. It's Henry Hoggle, you jackass. You never skim an employee file in your life? We've been co-workers for months, King. You're either woefully ignorant or just plain dumb sometimes. That why I never hear you talkin' about a social life? No friends? No girl back home?" Mr. Hoggle grumped, snatching the peach from Jareth's slackened grip as he blinked down at him. His face heated and he glared, annoyed at the man's judgemental tone. "You need to pull the wool out of your ears and remove the blinder from your eyes, you big oaf. The world ain't what you think it is."

"Don't presume to  _know_  me, Mr. Hoggle. You clearly don't." That time, he sounded menacing and he meant it. The blunt words spat at him by the older man stung.  _He has no idea what my life is like, the bastard. Don't you dare judge me! I have an ailing mother and a younger brother to protect but you don't see_ _ **me**_ _running around like a madman, thrusting guns in people's faces!_

Unable to deal with the roiling emotions in his head, he turned away savagely, running a hand through his hair.  _Fucking asshole. I get harassed daily for just being fae. Do you know how many times I've almost gotten killed, just being who I am, living where I do, all for my family?_ _ **Do you?**_

"Listen, kid, I didn't mean it like that, I…." Mr. Hoggle started, something shifting in his expression as he must have saw the hurt flash in Jareth's eyes. Jareth snorted, looking away, but the older man continued. "I'm just saying that...oh, hell with it. How's this thing work, anyways?"

"You make her eat it," Jareth bit out, annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock," Mr. Hoggle growled back, his expression turning murderous, as he thrust the peach up in Jareth's face. "What's it  _do_  to her?"

"It…." This time, Jareth felt another flare of heat creep into his face. He saw Mr. Hoggle's annoyed expression, his irritated jerk of a hand, urging him to spit it out, so he did. "It sends her into a dreamscape-like setting. I hoped to induce images uncomfortable enough, she'd….force herself to crash out of the atmosphere and cast her back to the main VR."

Mr. Hoggle went deathly still. "What  _kind_  of images?"

Jareth swallowed, seeing the sudden icy rage in the older man's gaze. "The..sexual kind." He hastily backed up when he saw the man's jaw flex and he opened his mouth to roar out some kind of insult, his face turning a mottled pink in sheer fury.

"We've tried everything else! It's the last thing I could think of that was ludicrous enough to work!" He hastily added, raising his hands in the air in a gesture of surrendor. "I think that would be better than giving her nightmares, don't you? We want to startle her out of here, not traumatize her!"

" _Let me guess_ , they're starring  _you?_ " Mr. Hoggle sneered, positively furious. "I might shoot you anyways, you fucking pervert. I'm - "

"I'm here, I'm recognizably the bad guy, who  _else_  would you have in mind?" Jareth replied in exasperation, pinching his nose and closing his eyes. Sighing, he looked back at the man, seeing the shift of anger in his face move towards a more subtle emotion like annoyance, his expression still dark. " _Look,_  I don't want to do this anymore than you do, the idea of doing  _anything_  with an underage girl is pretty revolting but  _what choice do we have?_  Our shift...or... _my_  shift ends in two hours. Either we do this or she's stuck another day. Or I'm dead - and I'd  _really_  prefer not to be."

" _Fine,_ " snapped Mr. Hoggle, thrusting a finger up in his face. "But you do  _anything,_  and I'm shooting your balls clean off. This one I'll observe from the office monitor,  _thank you very much._  After I feed Sarah this proverbial forbidden fruit." The older man glared at the peach in his hand and shuddered, snapping his fingers at Jareth. "Go...get in position. This is so disgusting…"

Muttering, the man vanished from sight. Jareth sighed again, then did as he was told, changing into a more dramatic outfit and positioning himself at the correct spot in the ballroom, the VR manipulations coming to life, the music starting to play, and he held his breath and waited.

* * *

 

The song was one his mother would sing, back when his father was still around. No matter how many times he heard it, it still tugged at his heartstrings. Suddenly, he realized it was a mistake to choose this song, somehow tainting it by using it this way. He let his eyes wander, a brief smile tugging at his mouth as he remembered with no small measure of melancholy, how beautiful his mother's singing voice was. These days, she was lucky to remember anything from those times before his father had left them and now, every time he stared at his mother or younger brother, he felt that loss with a keen ache in his chest. He hadn't been ready to lose him when they had, still young for fae years, not yet ready to be the male head of house so soon. She had most likely forgotten the words long ago, when the illness first set in, the same illness that took his father decades ago. Fate was a cruel mistress and now, listening to this song, he once more steeled himself to do whatever it took to make it out of this VR, intact.

 _There's such a sad love_  
_Deep in your eyes A kind of pale jewel_  
 _Open and closed Within your eyes_  
 _I'll place the sky_  
 _Within your eyes_

He closed his eyes briefly, gritting his teeth, then felt the VR alert flash in his head as a warning that  _she_  had arrived. He opened them, scanning the room, frowning as a blip in the code made his steps falter, once more getting a sense of déjà vu from the day before. He frowned for the briefest of moments, scouring the code, realizing that she'd altered it again.

Blinking in surprise, he scanned the room, searching. "Sarah?" He called, struggling to spot her dark hair amongst the masked VR dancers, moving about the ballroom with a prickling sense of fear, the words of the song his mother would sing droning on in the background.

 _There's such a fooled heart_  
_Beatin' so fast_  
 _In search of new dreams_  
 _A love that will last_  
 _Within your heart_  
 _I'll place the moon_  
 _Within your heart_

"Hello?" He called, turning in circles, after searching for what felt like hours. Briefly, he conjured the clock once more, panic seizing him as he saw the time.  _Where the hell is she?_

"Looking for someone?" A cool feminine voice whispered from behind him, close to his ear. He stiffened, whirling, but no one was there. He struggled desperately to appear in control, but he was failing. Sweating, he nervously smoothed a hand over his jaw and flashed a smile he hoped was taunting but had a sneaking suspicion appeared simply nervous.

 _As the pain sweeps through,_  
_Makes no sense for you_  
 _Every thrill is gone_  
 _Wasn't too much fun at all,_  
 _But I'll be there for you_  
 _As the world falls down_  
 _Falling_  
 _Falling down_  
 _Falling in love_

"Sarah?" He called again, stepping forward, only to realize after a few steps he'd lost control of his legs and couldn't move. He looked down, feeling something creep along his torso, and saw a slender hand curl around his waistcoat, parting the silk overcoat gracing his shoulders.

" _Yes, Jareth?"_  She whispered behind him, nipping at his ear. He froze, confusion flashing across his face, as he realized the voice from before responded once more, to the name Sarah. But the voice he heard wasn't a young girl's voice, but of someone much older. Mortification creeped up his face as he felt her hand dip low, tracing the curve of his hip, and his body responded.

The song played on.

 _I'll paint you mornings of gold_  
_I'll spin you Valentine evenings_  
 _Though we're strangers 'til now,_  
 _We're choosing the path_  
 _Between the stars_  
 _I'll leave my love_  
 _Between the stars_  
 _As the pain sweeps through,_  
 _Makes no sense for you_  
 _Every thrill is gone_  
 _Wasn't too much fun at all,_  
 _But I'll be there for you-ou-ou_  
 _As the world falls down_

Her fingers continued to move, continued to hold him in thrall, and he realized once more he was responding to her touch as the song slowly faded into the background and the ballroom began to darken. Letting out a puff of breath, he winced as her fingers dragged dangerously close to an area of his body he did  _not_ want explored, mostly out of embarrassment rather than the actual want for her to stop.

 _Jesus fuck, I've got a boner. In a VR ballroom, with a female of questionable age close to discovering just how hard I am. Could this_ _ **get**_ _any weirder?_ His mind panicked, humiliated to feel his body shudder and grow aroused at the touch of the woman behind him.

Gritting his teeth, he tried once more to turn, and failed.  _ **Shit.**_ _Get control of the situation, Jareth._ "Who are you?" He barked out, keeping his tone low, hoping to get across his annoyance at being held captive. "What do you want?"

"Who do you think I am?" She taunted back, pressing up against him, her hand skirting lower and lower still. He bucked faintly, trying to cast her prying hand off, noting the opulent silver-gold gossamer fabric he'd programmed for the girl to wear around the woman's forearm, worried if her hand skated lower, she'd brush up against his body's response.

Confusion once more warred inside him as he let out a harsh exhale, feeling the cushion of pert breasts press against his back. The woman chuckled from behind, but didn't touch him further, just resting her hand against his hip.

"The girl I was trying to reach isn't you. She's a young girl...and you're... _definitely not_." He managed a reply to her cryptic answer to the inquiry of who she was. "So... _again_...who  _are_  you?" He managed to continue, trying to turn his head.

Suddenly, he felt her move forward, licking the base of his neck, and he groaned despite his best attempt not to, his body flaring eagerly to life, his dick throbbing so hard in his pants, he was sure if she peered over the shadow of his shoulder, she'd notice.  _Gods, I am such a fucking pervert. Mr. Hoggle was right, this was a bad idea…_

"We're inside a VR, Jareth. I can be anything I want to be, just like you. What's  _real?_ How do you define  _real?_  If by  _real_  you mean what you can sense and taste and touch...then what's real is simply what the code allows you to see. Who's to say I'm still not that little girl? Or...a woman disguised as a little girl, to see if she should leave this safe place and trust her captor?"

 _Captor?_ He frowned, wanting to open his mouth and tell her he was no such thing, but she once more pressed a kiss to the base of his neck and another traitorous groan spilled past his lips.  _This is so embarrassing. Get a grip on yourself, King._ Still, his body trembled, maddeningly excited.

"In any event, you've passed my tests, as it were. I like you. I'd like to  _trust_  you.  _Can_  I trust you, Jareth?" The woman whispered, her hands caressing his thighs, seemingly pleased at his groan by her soft, seductive tone.

For some reason, something in her voice made him still and inspect the wording of her question. Could he really do this, really see this through? He had to, he had no choice, a gun was pointed at his chest back in the real world.  _Should she trust him?_  What kind of question was that?

He frowned, trying to turn his head again, but she simply nipped and licked at his neck again, his cock jumping in his pants at the sensation. Gritting his teeth, he nodded quickly.

"Of course you can trust me," he whispered. "I wouldn't hurt you."

"That's the first truth you've told me all night." She replied back with a soft purr, her hand gripping his hip with no small amount of strength. "Let's keep it that way from now on. Do you agree?"

"Yes," he responded quickly, feeling her spin him around, suddenly able to move himself. He wanted to be honest, his throat growing heavy with the urge, but the words dried up in his mouth as he turned. He blinked, noticing the ballroom gone, staring into the strong green-eyed gaze of a woman grown, devastatingly beautiful. They were in some part of the VR he didn't recognize, trying to make out the code.

"Where are we?" He whispered, looking back at her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, drawing close. He tensed when her hips brushed up against his erection, heat suffusing his face, but she simply smiled, cradling her hips closer to his own, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"The end," She murmured, her eyes trailing over his face. He frowned, looking down at her.

"The end?" He asked, confused.  _Why is everything so damn cryptic with her? How does she rewrite the code like this? I've never seen anything like it, it doesn't make any sense, she's -_ He paused, just staring at her.  _ **Fuck**_ _, she's fucking gorgeous._ As if in reminder of his response to her, his cock throbbed to painful awareness between them.

Sarah grinned, her teeth startlingly bright. "The end of the Labyrinth." She closed her eyes, canting her head back, drawing Jareth closer. Unable to help himself, he stared at her as she whispered something that made his skin prickle. " _Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great... You have no power over me."_

"What's that from?" He frowned, thinking it suddenly familiar. An ache started behind his eyes and he winced, and soon after he closed his eyes he felt her hand gently cupping his chin.

"Something my brother used to read to me as a child. It helped me realize my potential. Now, I gift that potential to you.." She whispered, the pounding in his head growing stronger. "I need you to wake up now and come save me, Jareth. Can you do that?"

"What?" He replied, opening his eyes and squinting at her.  _Why is my head hurting so bad? I - fuck…._  He swayed faintly, struggling to blink, her appearance blurring. Suddenly, she sobered, dropping the gentle smile, to lean forward and glare at him with intensity.

" **Wake up, Jareth. Right now.** "

He blinked against the sudden splintering pain between his eyes, closing them briefly. Hearing her sharp tone, he opened his eyes to ask what she meant, but she slammed her palm against his chest and sent him toppling off a ledge into sheer nothingness.

He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out and he succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

 Jolting awake, he blinked, jerking off all the VR gear to see Hoggle pacing on the other side of the room, his hair in wild grey tufts about his head. The older man jerked his head towards Jareth, his eyes wide, jaw clenched tightly, holding his hands up as he registered Jareth's sudden kick out of the maze finder VR.

"Well?" The man barked.

He struggled to a stand, opening his mouth to say something, when her tank vitals flashed across the office monitor screen. "She's -" He stopped dead, seeing her oxygen saturation plummeting.

Without thinking, he was running for the door. He looked over his shoulder, ready to shout something to the older man, but Mr. Hoggle had already grabbed his badge before he could ask him, and together they were running down the hall towards the tank in question.

As he bolted towards the tank once the door swung open, he swallowed. Sarah's words played over and over inside his head as he worked to open the tank, overriding all security codes without a second thought.

_Can I trust you, Jareth?_

He turned as he entered the last code, stepping back as Mr. Hoggle rapidly turned the tank door handle towards 'UNLOCK,' wondering what he'd find. Freezing, just as water and other solubles used in the tanks gushed out across the floor, the realized the better question was -  _could he trust her?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to add, I am by no means a software expert, so any "mistakes" on what malware does and what coding is capable of is my own fault. This is a Sci Fi fic, so just try and suspend your belief for a bit. I'm just clumsily doing my best to pay homage to some of my favorite movies that inspire this type of entertainment. 
> 
> PS - anyone catch my 'Matrix' reference in there?


	5. Chapter 5

The cold registered first, then the panic. She fell out of the tank, into his waiting arms as Mr. Hoggle struggled to remain standing against the gush of solubles that rushed out of the tank once the door relieved the internal pressure, swinging the older man wildly to one side, where he'd never hope to move in time to catch her. Jareth staggered painfully to his knees as he swooped forward against the current, urgently knowing he needed to catch her before her skull or another tender part of her anatomy hit the floor with a sickening thud. The lab had been designed for efficiency and not the comfort of the subjects in mind.

He grunted as he caught her, latching on with a firm grip against her slippery cool skin, a side effect of the brackish mixture of chemicals used to keep the subjects in a forcibly induced sleep. Ignoring his sodden clothes, his trembling limbs, he coveted her to his chest and half-dragged, half-carried her unconscious naked form away from the cold wetness of the floor beneath her tank, towards the edge of the lab, where he worked furiously to remove the nodes and medical equipment impeding her airways. Her oxygen levels monitor continued to echo shrilly in his ear behind him and he dimly heard himself shout at Mr. Hoggle to silence it before it alerted the guards, rattling off his security clearance code as he tore at the electrodes suctioned to her face and chest, her eyes closed.

His hands trembled, seeing that beauty he'd witnessed in the makeshift VR she'd created to test him, now the only thing diluting it being the slight blue tinge creeping into her lips and the tips of her fingers. He had to work fast, her oxygen levels were dangerously low. If he wasn't quick enough, her brain tissue would start to suffocate.

Tilting her head back, he grimaced as he savagely tore at the suctioned hold to the mouthpiece that was half crammed down her throat. Gagging at the slurping sound, he gently jerked it back and forth until he heard the audible pop he needed to hear as the seal broke, wrenching it from her mouth, feeling her body twitch as the long tube came out with relative ease from her throat and upper esophagus and trachea, followed by more of the cold chemicals from before. He slammed a fist against her back and more chemicals bubbled past her lips, but not the quick sudden inhalation of hair he'd been expecting.

The panic dancing along his nerve endings went into override, his heart pounding so hard he broke out in a cold sweat. Jerking her in his arms, he shoved her down on the floor, positioning her for the next phase he'd been trained on in waking a subject in a crisis.  _Please work._

Suddenly, in his mind's eye, he heard her words from the VR ballroom.  _I'd like to trust you, Jareth. Can I trust you? I need you to wake up and come save me. Can you do that?_ He felt sick, thinking of her in the VR, so alive, so almost magical, against this cold bluish creature in front of him.

"Come on, Sarah. Breathe.  _Breathe_ ," he whispered, pushing her down flat on her back, ignoring her obvious nakedness as he furiously pumped at her chest, then tilted her head back, pinched her nose, and breathed in rapid succession.

 _Of course you can trust me,_ he'd said.  _I wouldn't hurt you._ Gritting his teeth, he worked harder, determined not to make himself a liar. It was suddenly paramount he keep his word to this mystery woman.

Idly, his mother's chastising voice entered his ear as he worked, fueling his determination.  _Have you met a pretty girl yet, son?_

Staring down at Sarah, he swallowed, pressing his lips to hers, forcing air into her lungs, ignoring the exhaustion slowly creeping up on him. He didn't even hear Mr. Hoggle approach, too focused on the task at hand. In his mind, he continued the inane conversation with his mother.  _Perhaps, if I can only wake her up first._

" _Fucking breathe,_  dammit!" He hissed, forcing his arms and mouth and shoulders to keep working, despite fatigue beginning to burn in his muscles. Slowly, he saw the blue fade, replaced with pink, spurring him into harder chest compressions and more assisted breathing. Finally, on the fifth circuit, he felt her jerk underneath him, gagging, vomiting profusely in his face as she moaned, curling on her side, expelling the rest of the chemical from her lungs. Her ragged breathing, followed by a soft hiccup of sobs, made her suddenly seem so fragile in his arms as he wiped his face, ignoring the bitter sting of chemicals on his nostrils. He sagged backwards, shuddering, keeping her cradled to his chest tightly with his arms, as he heard Mr. Hoggle surge forward, the ringing of the alarm no longer screaming in his ears.

"Sarah? Sarah,  _honey_ , you there?  _Sarah?_ Talk to me..." Mr. Hoggle skidded to his knees behind Jareth, roughly shoving him away as he took hold of the woman, making Jareth blink, shivering in the coldness that suddenly followed. She'd been decidedly warm since she woke and she slowly blinked, opening her eyes. They were the same eyes he remembered from that maze, focusing on Mr. Hoggle.

"Uncle Hoggle?" She whispered, touching the older man's face with a trembling hand. Jareth did his best to avert his gaze, his eyes only briefly taking in the attractive swell of her hips and the perfect curve and shadow of the small of her back as she curled around the older man, a gentle sob escaping her throat.

 _Uncle Hoggle?_ Briefly, his eyes widened at what he overheard, suddenly observing the older man's desperate acts from before in the VR with a new insight. For some insane reason he couldn't name, he found himself forgiving the man's treacherous actions in the VR. If she was truly family, he found he understood quite well what one could be driven to, reflecting back on his family.

"Yeah, girl, it's me." Mr. Hoggle grinned, tears shimmering in his eyes as he held her close, patting her cheek. "You gave us a fright, you did. I had to resort to some rather deplorable tactics to get you out, I'll have you know. I'm a downright criminal now."

Sarah's watery laugh made Jareth's chest seize uncomfortably, making him feel as if he was intruding on something intimate between family. He slowly stood, his gait wobbly, head spinning, as he looked around for something to cover the woman with. Finding a table of stacked towels, he lurched towards them, grabbing a fistful blindly, then wandered back over to where the two sat, curled against one another, whispering something he couldn't make out over the roar of his pulse in his ears.

Suddenly, as he held a hand out with a wad of towels, a hand brushed his. He jerked, his eyes lowering, clashing with a set of beautiful jade. She smiled and once more, he felt his pulse roar in his ears. "Hello, Jareth. You saved me." Something in her eyes had his body tingling, that faint shadow of a headache returning. "Thank you."

"Hey," was all he could reply, lowering his gaze, but not before he caught the faint rose-tipped outline of a full breast. Swallowing, he felt a blush creep up his face when her small smile told him she caught his quick stare, then hastily dropped a towel over her body and quickly took a few steps back, ignoring the singing in his blood that boiled up as her eyes lowered over his form.

 _Get it together, King._ He breathed softly, turning his gaze away, forcing down his reaction. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he sighed as he felt the fake skin about his eyebrows give away, peeling off the rest. Today had turned out to be the shittiest day of his life, and he still had fifteen minutes on the clock, assuming he made it home in one piece. Luckily, his inner lamenting allowed him to get control of his rising arousal around the woman.

 _Tomorrow,_ he swore,  _I'm taking up Fergus on that offer of a night out. This is embarrassing,_  he mentally berated himself, thinking of how often and easily the woman curled against Hoggle, her uncle from all accounts, had stirred him close to climax. Just thinking about that made his skin blister in a tell-tale blush he knew was scalding his cheeks. Thankfully, the woman and older man were too distracted to catch sight of it.

Suddenly, an unease sensation prickled along his senses. Something was wrong. Before he could register what it was, the shout had him freezing to the spot, eyes wide.

"Halt! Who authorized you in this lab sector?"

The shout finally jarred enough energy into his muscles that he turned his head, staring in stiffened shock at a pair of security guards. They looked lethal, much more sinister than the guards he was used to walking by every day on his usual path to his office. They crept closer, eerily alert, guns raised, red icons at the firing pin warning him they had stun turned off and the "kill" lock engaged. Blinking, he tried to fumble for an excuse -  _any_ excuse - to explain his soggy appearance and the state of the lab, instinctually moving to shield the woman and older man who still laid in a prone position across the floor. He didn't dare look over at them to confirm what their next move would be, somehow sensing that would be a fatal mistake.

"A...tank had a malfunction. I.." Jareth started, tilting his body suddenly in such a way to distract the guards from Sarah and Mr. Hoggle, who were still out of line of sight from where Jareth stood and the two sentries approached.

The guards looked at one another, scowling, then radioed in his badge number and a description of the scene to a superior. Swallowing, he forced his gaze to remain on them both, not daring to look at Mr. Hoggle and Sarah, who had begun to slowly creep towards the exit from what he could see out of the corner of his eye.

He shifted slightly on his feet, making sure to hold their attention, forcing an air of impatience he didn't feel into his expression. "Guys, the subject's fine, but I'm wet and cold and if you _don't_ mind, I'd like to change into something dry. Can't we wrap this up in quarantine?"

The guards said nothing, their guns poised at his chest, and he swallowed, then choked a laugh he didn't feel, raising his hands eye and making an effort to look confused, which didn't take much. Why were their guns set to kill, not stun? Why didn't they talk to him? Who were they communicating to through the earbuds they gently tucked up against their head? Why weren't they smiling?

Suddenly, they both went still, their eyes flat. Jareth licked his lips, his eyebrows raising, hoping it surely a sign that he would be released despite the sudden acrid taste of fear rising in the back of his throat.

Something was very wrong.

The next words they spoke had the hairs on the nape of his neck rising. "Shoot to kill. Understood, Sir."

Raising both their guns, pointing them both at his chest, they took aim and fired.

Jareth jerked, eyes wide in panic, as he brought his hands up to shield himself, however frugal such an act would turn out to be. "No! WAIT!" He heard himself plead, crashing to his knees, waiting for the pain to bloom from his chest. Briefly, his family's faces wavered in front of his mind's eye, and he closed his eyes tightly, grief washing over his senses.

Except the pain never came - nothing did but silence and an odd static buzz in the air around him. Opening his eyes cautiously, he let out a sharp exhale at what he saw.

Standing behind the men, was Sarah, the dark-haired mysterious woman from the VR, her green eyes glowing in her ethereal face. She wore no clothes, a goddess in her naked fury. Her hand was outstretched towards him and her lips were peeled back from her teeth, a savage look of rage on her face. Suddenly, he realized what the static buzz was - it was the bullets, vibrating from their restrained state, still barreling towards him except at a curiously slow pace. The guards looked frozen, a look of shock and fear outlined clearly in their halted states.

"Move, Jareth.  _Now._ " She rasped, the sound sharp and ringing in his ear, despite her distance across the lab. Taking her words as grail, he rolled to his stomach, sliding in the cold chemicals, just as he heard chaos erupt once more around him. Bullets flew past him in a rush that felt like a sting against his skin and the guards twisted, screaming, only to be shoved with an invisible hand into the tank she once occupied, watching in shocked awe as she stalked forward, hand extended, the chemicals pooling off the floor, rising like an odd rapidly rippling bubble, to return to the tank. The nodes he'd only recently stripped from her suddenly doubled, spun around the guards as their clothes dissolved and the monitors whirled, her data replaced with their own.

In mere seconds, an eerie silence settled over the lab as he stared at the tank she had just occupied, now filled with the security guards. His pulse roared, his panic rose, and he realized he was dangerously close to fainting.

 _What the hell had just happened? What was going on?_  Was he losing his mind - was that what was happening? He closed his eyes, his breathing close to mimicking the sound of hyperventilating as he tried to make sense of what he'd just witnessed.  _Things like that don't just happen, King. They don't just happen! Magic is dead! Magic is gone! It hasn't been used in ages! What was that? What is she? Am I in danger? Oh Gods, I should run, I should -_

"Jareth."

Warm hands touched his chest, making him stiffen and blink rapidly, suddenly staring into her eyes, his panicked thoughts immediately disappearing as he stared into her face. She smiled faintly, stroking a hand over his cheek and forehead, kneeling down beside where he'd sprawled on his back across the floor in his fear, his headache suddenly returning with a fierceness that made him wince as he met her eyes.

"What the fuck are you?" He whispered, his tone implying his terror. Despite all that, her nearness called to him and he found himself breathing heavily for altogether different reason. Crimson stained his cheeks as he felt is body react to her nearness, surging against his pants.

She simply smiled again, then leaned forward, either aware of her nakedness and not caring or simply used to having men stare. He was as frightened as he was aroused as he stared, his eyes slowly lowering. Her chuckle made his eyes snap back to her face as she grinned. He jerked when one of her hands lightly stroked his erection through his wet pants. He wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed, excited, or terrified - perhaps a mixture of all three. His body responded, making him grit his teeth to stifle the groan that wanted to rip out of him as her fingers gently gripped and massaged.

"You saved me after all, it seems. My knight, my Goblin King, my fairy prince?" She grinned, cupping him, that time her agile fingers able to tear the groan from him he tried desperately to stifle. "Come here, let me show my thanks." She whispered, crawling closer, her lips mere inches from his.

For whatever reason he couldn't name, he was suddenly blindingly aroused. His cock throbbed like a thing all its own, spurring his body to taste what she offered. Without thinking, he jerked up, hauling her against him, and kissed her. She tasted like lilac and the sweet scent of peaches and he groaned as soon as her tongue found his. Instantly, he was impossibly hard, aching with the urge to climax, needing her with an intensity he couldn't explain. She crawled into his lap suddenly, rocking her hips suggestively against his wet trousers, and he almost came. She grinned against his mouth, pulling back at only the last minute. Unable to help it, he boldly reached out and fondled her breasts.

"This is fucking crazy," He whispered, horrified as she groaned, leaning back. He'd never done anything like this in his life and he suddenly felt like he wasn't quite himself. Still, he'd soon cut his own hand off than stop. Her breasts were heavy, almost too much for the span of his hands, but nearly perfect. He gripped them tightly and flexed his fingers, her nipples pinching between his knuckles. Her moan nearly sent him over the edge again.

Almost immediately, his conscience reared its ugly head, screaming the alarm inside his head.  _What in the FUCKING HELL are you doing, King! Stop trying to satisfy your prick and THINK! This is madness!_

"As much...as I'd love to let….this have a happy ending...for us both...I need you to sleep now….Jareth," Sarah spoke softly, her velvety tone interrupting his line of thoughts. He frowned, settling his gaze back on her, realizing how the scene must look - her straddling him, him gripping her breasts, both dangerously aroused, the guards in the tank -  _the guards in the tank -_ _ **the guards in the fucking tank --**_

His panic surged once more and he stiffened, only for her head to snap forward, fingers stroking his jaw, her eyes meeting his own. A keen intelligence shone there, her eyes taking on that odd glow once more, the sound of her voice ricocheting inside his skull.

"Sleep...right now." She sighed, rocking her hips against his, his cock flaring eagerly under her once more, panic forgotten, his peak plucking with dangerous insistence at his nerves. Just as he felt himself seize, her command sunk deep, and he felt the pinnacle suddenly stretch out of reach, leaving him burning with a sense of denial as he slumped into unconsciousness.

_Sleep._

* * *

 

He jerked to a sitting position, the familiar blare of his alarm shrieking in his ear. Slamming his hand down, silencing the noise, he tried to still the hammering in his heart, shuddering at the alarming unspent desire stirring underneath his skin. Lowering his eyes, he felt shame pluck at his senses as he noticed his erection, throbbing like a living thing between his legs.

 _Where the fuck - How?_ He blinked, stiffening, suddenly realizing he didn't remember how he got here. He knew, instinctively, it was the next day, but the how and why escaped him. The more he struggled to remember, the more the memory unraveled, until he was left with nothing but a phantom sigh of a woman in his head and a hard on that he hadn't felt since he was a youth.

Panting, falling back on the bed with a pained groan, he stared at the ceiling and blinked, squinting at the bright light. Looking over, gritting his teeth against the agonizing sensations of the sheets on his sensitive skin, he looked at the clock. It was a few hours before his shift. He frowned, trying to remember why he was awake so early - he said he'd call mother, didn't he? Wasn't that today, or was it yesterday?

Regardless, he couldn't think, with the rioting throb of his body pounding with insistency between his legs. He struggled to contain his lust, but unable to calm himself no matter what he tried, finally drug his hand underneath the sheets and gripped himself, embarrassed at the loud hoarse cry of pleasure that burst past his lips.

He hadn't been this randy since - he paused, his hips raising as he fisted himself, grunting as he struggled, and failed, to contain his pleasure - since he couldn't remember. Closing his eyes, he did his best to get it over with, slightly horrified at how quickly he was close to coming.

Suddenly, the image of a dark-haired woman he couldn't place entered his mind's eye. She was beautiful, her skin flushed pink in her own arousal, straddling him and rocking her hips deliciously against his own. For some reason, he couldn't breach her and the inability to complete the act had him groaning painfully, her green eyes flashing with amusement at his expense, despite a hint of frustration simmering in her own, full lips curling upwards, rose-tipped breasts pebbling as they moved gently with her movement of her body, and then suddenly - he was coming like the world was ending, shouting as his body twisted in the sheets, his grip struggling to keep up with the wild pulses of his climax.

Just as he reached his peak, the image faded without notice. He swore, dropping his hand, feeling his arousal leave him just as quickly, his body spent. Suddenly, he flushed a bright pink.  _What the actual fuck kind of wet dream was that? Gods, maybe I should ask Raisa out. I need to get laid._

Grimacing at the state of his sheets and his body, he sat up, wadding the sheets around his waist, sidestepping the robotic house cleaner that whirled by, not even bothering to turn on the teleprompt in his haste to shower and wash the sheets around his hips.  _Coming off a dream like a damned kid. Gods, you're pathetic, King._

In his haste, he failed to notice the blinking icon in the corner of his wall display that read:  _You've got mail! Attachment received, pending confirmation to download from LabRynth Industries, Site 204._

* * *

 

A few hours later, dressed and wandering the streets towards  _Bits & Bytes _to call his mother before work -  _wait, didn't I just do that?_  - he stilled, a headache springing suddenly out of nowhere as he tried to retrace his steps from the past forty-eight hours.

Slowing, he frowned, turning away from the cyber cafe, wandering towards the train platform towards work, at a loss for what else to do. He'd realized earlier Fergus was in Phoenix, no doubt in the middle of his presentation, and without anyone else to call - and desperately hoping to avoid a specific human in the halls of his apartment complex, should the man choose to follow through with his unspoken promise of violence, he simply moved towards the train station and headed to the only place that offered any consistency in his life. He was early, but he ignored the odd stares, mumbling that he wanted to check his latest code deployment around the heat signature discrepancy as he signed his login papers, and moved in wooden silence towards his sector of the large compound.

Stumbling into his office, staring oddly at his badge, he looked up as a lanky human blinked around a set of heavy glasses. A prickling heated his eyes and he blinked to avoid a hot shed of tears threatening to spill past his lashes.  _The fuck?_ His senses barked, making him frown, almost not hearing the human's greeting.

"Yo, Jar. You're here early."

"Hey, Skud. That I am." He replied automatically, jerking at the name, the headache once more searing behind his eyelids.  _Why did that name seem wrong?_  Shaking off the sensation, he smiled at his co-worker, and slid into his seat, still feeling oddly out of place, like he was missing a vital piece to a puzzle he didn't realize he had been trying to complete. Suddenly, memories flooded him, making him grimace again against the searing headache that felt like it was fracturing his skull. "How's the wife?"

The words sounded foreign on his tongue as he said them, but once out, sounded right even to his own ears. He began to wonder if he'd accidently been slipped some kind of drug at a late-night eatery he was known to frequent near his apartment. Stranger things had been known to happen - right?

"She's good. Cranky, but a whiny toddler will do that to you." Chuckled the man, looking over Jareth with an eagerness that belied his calm tone, his eyes darting to the clock. "Say, since you're in early, mind if I bail? I'm sure she'd love the extra shut eye if I get home a few hours ahead of rush hour."

"Yep, go on." Jareth waved him off, watching as the man eagerly packed up his items and left in a rushed goodbye. For a reason he couldn't explain, the man's presence unnerved him and he was eager to be alone.

Scrubbing at his eyes, once the man was gone, the oddness in him eased. He reached blindly for his phone, dialing a number by memory, then shuddered, fear seizing him. His thoughts went wild and panicked as he calmly spoke to the reception on the other end, scheduling an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.  _It couldn't hit three generations, could it?_

As he hung up, he dimly fought off the urge to be sick, then quickly settled into numbness.  _No sense in putting the cart before the horse, King. Let's see what tomorrow brings, okay?_

Frowning at the uneasy truce he'd settled on in his head, Jareth simply stared at his desk, then turned on his monitor, using his credentials to log into the system. Slowly, as if on autopilot, he pulled up his code, creeping into the familiar humdrum functions of his job. Nothing was out of place.

Again, his mind wandered to last night. Just what  _had_  he been doing? When did he get home?  _How_  did he get home? Had he been slipped drugs? Hastily, he reminded himself to bring that up on tomorrow's appointment.

Suddenly, that searing headache had him nearly falling out of his chair, his hands smashing down on his keyboard in the process. Suddenly, an audiovisual file began to play.

Opening his eyes, he stared wide-eyed at what he was watching. It was him, with an unknown male, a gun thrust in his face - and none of this he had memory of. Chills suddenly swept over his lean frame as he watched the scene play out.

" _I want you to get her out,"_ spat the unknown older man, a gun thrust in his face, wild panic in his eyes.  _"You ran the damned Maze Finder program, you bastard. She's stuck. Get her out."_

Almost immediately, an innate panic seized him, and he halted the file, shoving in a portable disc drive, copying it, then deleted it from the main hard drive.

He worked woodenly through the rest of his shift, too numb to properly digest whatever he had seen. As his shift recovery came in, offering him an obligatory greeting, he said nothing and rose, walking out of the office in a haze.

Almost imperceptibly, his fingers curled around the disc drive in his pocket and his frame tensed, his head jerking up. Bolting for the nearest train, he boarded it in a hurry, tugging the item out of his pocket and staring at it in wonder.

Panic and wonder both seized him as he pocketed it once more - the whole while never noticing the cloaked figure that had been following his tail since he left Site 204.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has been on the back burner for quite a while. Finally kicking it off again. Some updates were made to the first chapter, so if you're one of those faithfully subscribed, you might want to re-read it.
> 
> Thanks for being patient while I let my tapped-out endurance for the Laby fandom return. I can't guarantee hurried updates on this fic, but I _will_ finish it. Real life has been pretty rough lately, so for now, don't expect more than 1-2 updates a month. If something changes, I'll update more often.

 

* * *

  _ **Part Two: Queen of Hearts**_

* * *

 

  * **June 8, 2286, 1045AM EST**


  * **Mid-West Fae Medical Diagnostics Division**


  * **Chicago, Illinois**


  * **Aboveground**



 

“I don’t think you have any reason to be concerned, Mr. King. Your tests all came back negative and there’s no evidence of hallucinogens in your system. While, yes, your mother and father both manifesting the disease is quite uncommon and increases your risk factor later in life, at this time your panels are entirely normal and…”

As the physician sitting in front of him droned on, tapping on the three-dimensional hologram image in a pristine white robe that Jareth hated, expecting a smile in return for his efforts at describing his panel results - an outfit that was _supposed_ to conjure comfort and trustworthiness of all medical personnel, especially ones suffering from what his mother and family all seemed doomed to contract, but failed spectacularly in doing so - he found himself instead gritting his teeth and forcing down the desire to bark at him to just shut the hell up.

 _Yay, I’m not dying -_ ** _yet._ ** He thought bitterly, just nodding his head as the man hesitated for the briefest second before continuing, rambling more medical jargon that Jareth already knew about.

_Are you eating healthy? Yes, I follow all nutritional guidelines recommended to prevent the disease._

_Are you exercising daily? Yes, I use the pool._

_Are you taking your supplements? Every one, doctor._

_Are you monitoring your health? I do all the necessary screening, yes._

The doctor grinned, pleased, and continued stating the facts of his case - the statistics of what could happen if he followed their guidance, as if it would mean anything in the end. He knew where this road ended for him, given his family’s history with the disease - a disease that still didn’t have a name beyond the one earned in the Underground less than a century ago, where it had begun rapidly decimating his species.

 _Titim Tobann Biotáille - Sudden Spirit Collapse,_ they began calling it in Fae terms. Humans called it cancer, but unlike their own species’ way of contracting the disease, the Fae version was far, far worse. His father had died from it, his mother was currently battling it (and losing), and Jareth knew it was only a matter of time before he, too, suffered its effects.

Still, he listened and pretended to give the man rapt attention when he recommended a slew of newly designed medication for Jareth to take with his evening meals. He agreed, taking the presented script and rising, shaking the hand of the doctor for his time, and exited the office. It wasn’t until he was standing on the streets outside of the bright-lit medical block that he realized he had forgotten to tell the doctor of the dreams and the lost chunks of time that had occurred roughly two weeks ago. Glancing down at the script, thrusting it in his pocket, he sighed and shook his head. Did it really _matter_ that he’d forgotten? The doctor said his panels were fine, so it wouldn’t have accounted for it anyways. It shocked him already that it had taken him two weeks to get in to see a specialist for the type of illness his family suffered from - alerting him that either the rates were rising or the Aboveground was ill-equipped to handle a mostly Underground problem. Since many Fae had come Aboveground with the change in dimensional governments and new Fae leaders, the rates of contracting the disease were fairly low here. Even when he’d tried telling his mother this - she refused to leave her home, telling him she was born there and she would die there. Adrien was too young to understand and had wanted to stay close to his friends, so he’d given up pushing the issue, since she’d already developed the first stages anyways. It was partly why he was here - his job was sourced here and being Aboveground protected him, according to his mother.

Turning and heading towards the train depot, he internally inspected the _real_ reason he was here, still intending to head to the pharmacy and fill the script regardless, now that he had the remainder of the day off from work, after he’d called and said he needed to submit himself for a series of tests. His boss, at least, understood the precedent of his family’s health history and had allowed the time away from the job. Oh, sure, he’d fill the medication and take it as required by the physician -  if not for himself than for his mother and Adrian - despite still bothered by why he’d requested the tests in the first place. After all, he was now the only capable, fully-functional adult left in their small familial unit, and he refused to be a burden to his mother and his younger sibling. Simple fact was - without Jareth, his mother wouldn’t get the healthcare she needed, his brother would likely be confiscated by the state, and his mother and him would starve. Yes, others had it worse, but the direness of his situation was simple fact for many fae that suffered from the disease and the changes made both in his home and here in the past few centuries. Life as he remembered as a child was now a simple fantasy - so far removed from what reality was now, he forcibly never thought of those days when he was happier and his family was still whole. In fact, he’d never even mention this appointment to his mother, fearing that her illness would worsen if her spirits plummeted. She already worried too much, for him and his brother after their father had died, and he wouldn’t contribute to her pain.

As he plugged his print badge into the turnstile at the train station and filed forward with the others, he thought back to why he was here - the lost time span he’d suffered from. As he looked up, following the signs to the platform he needed to wait at, he worried over the file he’d inspected at length once he was in the privacy of his own home.

_An older human man, holding him at gunpoint, forcing him to immerse himself in his own experimental code to secure a girl - no, woman - from the Maze Finder program._

At first, he was in denial - thinking it simple sleep deprivation. He’d heard of the symptoms, ones his human colleagues often suffered from when new coding updates were implemented into the primary production mainframe. Foggy memory, audio and visual hallucinations, lack of drive for the basic things in life - food, sex, forward thinking. Still, he snorted, shaking his head. _No, not a chance. You know the truth, King. That is_ **_not_ ** _what this was - Fae don’t suffer that at the hours you’ve worked alongside humans, you know your own physiology. This was something different, something….suspicious._

And yet, the other implications of this - that what he’d watched was _very much_ _real_ \- made the situation all that more frightening. If it was real - that time had been lost to him, that he had been forced to do something not only unethical but potentially illegal, that LabRynth had been infiltrated and manipulated in some way -  it meant he had a very real problem and realized he wasn’t sure who to trust with what he’d learned or who to confide in.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had a target painted on his back, and he was very much alone. While his nerves had been settled learning he didn’t have the disease that had killed his father and was currently killing his mother, he didn’t know what this new discovery meant for him, either.

 _How is any of this possible? Did a subject really re-write the code like that?_ Blindly finding a seat, he felt his whole body begin to sweat, his fingers trembling as he ran them over his coat blazer. _I thought magic was dead? It hasn’t worked in the Underground in centuries - all the noble bloodlines are dead, all the old texts lost - but what had that woman done? Had she really been able to do what I could see in the VR? Was that really_ **_magic_ ** _I was witnessing, or some radical new technology and code I have yet to discover?_

He’d heard of the human and fae rebellions but had never given it much thought, thinking them mere radicals against the government that now supported both Aboveground and Underground realities. Yes, the new government was a hard one to endure at times with all the new edicts being borne every day of that council of leaders that sought peace amongst all the kind they ruled over now, but didn’t all governments struggle in some way? He regretted now discounting all that he’d read as garbage and tabloid fodder, part of him wishing he’d paid more attention.

Almost as suddenly, he wanted to laugh. _Geez, Jareth, you sound like one of those podcast conspiracy theorists._ Shaking his head, he wiped at his face and forced himself to relax.

Even with the audacity of his thoughts, part of him wanted to recognize that there might be a glimmer of truth to his rationalizations. Yes, they sounded completely crazy, but what else explained the twilight zone he’d entered roughly two weeks ago? The service flag file had been gone when he went to look for it - scrubbed clean from the system entirely, not just overwritten - and there was no record of a Henry Hoggle ever being employed at LabRynth Industries, nor was there a subject Sarah Ann Williams to speak of, either.

The simple fact was - either he was going completely crazy with some unknown mental illness that had yet to manifest in his panels - or he was looking at something no one had ever seen in centuries.

_Was magic really back?_

Suddenly, the automated computer chimed with his exit point, drawing Jareth out of his troubling thoughts. Standing, he made his way towards the train doors, intending to at the very least fill the paper script in his pocket, allowing some modicum of normalcy to dominate his life. He found it ironic that earlier this morning, his worst fears were of illness. Now, he suspected, he had bigger problems.

* * *

 

 

  * ****June 22, 2286, 1018PM EST****


  * **Southside Ballroom Club and Bar**


  * **Chicago, Illinois**


  * **Aboveground**



 

“Hello, Jareth.”

He blinked, looking up from his beer in the dim interior of the club, not expecting to hear his name spoken - or _who_ it had been spoken by. He froze, staring into a pair of jade eyes that had etched themselves deep in his memory, despite whatever had been at work trying to remove them from it.

_It was her._

Another two weeks had passed, all without incident. Never had his life seemed so boring, so predictable, and yet so stressful, now knowing what he knew - that something _was_ happening, something he couldn’t quite name, only having that one night’s worth of activities on file that he couldn’t explain. Paranoid enough now, he’d gone to differing cyber cafes and read the tabloid stories he’d originally discounted as myth and rumor, and felt himself worry over what he’d stumbled upon as he’d scrubbed his anonymous browser history clean.

After reading those articles, he’d found himself constantly looking over his shoulder while also trying to appear oblivious to the changes. He’d mostly succeeded, only rousing a question or two from Fergus when he’d met him for noodles last week, as usual, while his friend told him that his tech advancements were well received but pending funding. Secretly, he hoped the offers came through - he needed to get away from LabRynth Industries as soon as possible. Something now seemed off about the place, despite nothing showing on the surface as wrong or inhumane. He also couldn’t get that woman out of his head - and then here she was, standing next to him at the bar, dressed in a crop top and skirt that barely hid that body that he had fantasized about for hours.

“Hello,” he found himself saying, looking over her form slowly with a mixture of unease and anxiousness, deciding to greet her with an air of unfamiliarity, hoping she didn’t suspect that he knew her name - or that he’d taped the actions of that night and knew some of the details that had transpired. “May I help you?”

Sarah simply smiled back, shaking her head and stepping closer. He stiffened for a second but forced himself to relax, feeling her gaze travel thoroughly over his own. He felt flustered at the intensity of her inspection, embarrassed that he was already aroused when she leaned forward and pushed his bottle of beer away, bringing her mouth close to his ear.

“I know that you know my name, Jareth,” she whispered - making his cock jump inside his pants. He simply said nothing, letting her continue, closing his eyes when she brushed her body up against his own, knowing she’d feel what she was doing to him. “I’m glad to see not all of you has forgotten me,” she teased, wrapping her arms around his neck, tugging him closer. “Come and dance with me.”

 _That_ made him open his eyes, pulling his head back long enough to stare down at her. She looked up at him with such laser focus he swallowed, setting aside his beer, but still rooted to where he stood against the bar. Should he dance with her, associate himself with her? Whatever this woman was involved in - did he really want to tumble down the rabbit hole with her? He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, watching amusement ripple over her features as she stood on the tips of her toes, her mouth tantalisingly close to his own - so close he could taste sweet mint on her breath. “Or we could do something else besides dancing, if you like,” she murmured, one hand sweeping down his jaw, across his silk-shirt, wedging between them both and suddenly gripping his erection with deft, curious fingers. He sucked in a sharp breath, watching amusement curl her lips as he struggled to breathe.

 _Yes, that -- let’s do_ **_that,_ ** he thought, unable to say anything back. How many mornings had he jerked off to the thought of her? The answer was too embarrassing to admit. While he was frightened of what she represented - he wanted her, that was unquestionable. For whatever reason, she seemed to sense that’s exactly what he wanted, taking his hand and drawing him back to a secluded booth with a curtain. She passed something to a security member, a big hulking beast of a man - money? Something else? - and then they were alone, secluded in a booth away from the others, alone and together.

She didn’t waste time, shoving him into the booth seat as she suddenly climbed atop him, straddling him. Just then, his brain began to work - but not to question her, only to follow his body’s cues. He grunted, satisfied when he jerked her skirt up her hips to find she was without underwear, feeling her own fingers loosen his belt and pants, sliding his cock free. He gripped the back of her neck, bringing her mouth to his, kissing her in all the ways he’d dreamed about but hadn’t been able to do, suddenly feeling a hot slickness envelop his cock.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he hissed against her mouth, realizing she’d seated herself on him. She merely laughed and began a slow, sensual pace that no matter how hard he tried to grip her hips and escalate, refused to do so.

“This isn’t a race, Jareth,” she whispered, breaking contact with his mouth, leaning back with a soft subdued sigh as he suddenly attacked her top, _needing_ to see the breasts he’d fantasized about for days. “What’s the hurry? Enjoy yourself...do whatever you want. I’m yours.”

Part of his brain was shrieking at him, asking him if he’d completely lost his fucking mind, but a larger, more primal part was just satisfied of being inside the woman that he couldn’t get his mind off of. Buried balls deep, he growled faintly as he sucked her nipples, feeling her tighten on him in response, nudge a little closer, and rotate her hips a little more keeny, driving him towards the explosive climax he wanted.

He’d thought of her, definitely, but the reality of it was so much better. She moved with him, drew something out of him he had never expected to feel, and in spite of her saying for them both to take their time and enjoy the sensations - within what felt like seconds, he was stiffening, crushing her hips against his, and exploding inside her, just as her own body crested and milked him within an inch of his life. Panting, sweating, he rested his face between her breasts, at a loss for what to say.

“That was--wow,” she whispered, and he wanted to say it was the same for him. _Perfect,_ he thought. _It was perfect._ He felt himself smiling, even as his head still buzzed from the force of his orgasm. _Next time will be even better, I bet._ Lifting his head, he intended to ask her for her number, almost lost to the fact of the situation she represented. For a moment, she was just a woman and he was just a man, and they liked one another, had fantastic sex together, and he wanted to see her again. _Say yes._

Just as he was about to ask that, he suddenly realized he hadn’t worn protection - going rigid for an entirely different reason. _Oh shit. Oh fuck._ What he’d just done, what they _both_ had just done, was insanely stupid, even if a small part of him was satisfied, perhaps even euphoric, that he might’ve risked getting her pregnant. Lifting his head, he opened his mouth to tell her their blunder, but fell quiet at what he saw.

Her eyes were glowing, a sharp crystalline jade green that shown like a beacon against the dim interior of the small oasis they had briefly shared, bringing the reality of what she represented with it.

“You’re not safe here,” she whispered, in a tone he’d never heard before, almost as if several voices were speaking at once - one overlapping the other - a sadness in her eyes, “You need to come with me. I’m sorry, I wish there was another way. I thought staying away was best, but…” Her expression hardened again and he felt that hypnotic voice tighten around his senses, making him stiffen, but respond all the same. “You will come with me.” Whatever she was doing, it unnerved him - whispered a word in the back of his mind that he didn’t want to believe, yet knew it was true - _magic_.

 _She has_ **_magic._ **

He blinked, trying to open his mouth and say something, realizing he _couldn’t._ Despite what they’d just done feeling _right,_ a cold sweat broke out over him, understanding what she could do to him if she wanted. Confusion came with the wariness, even as he tried fighting against whatever she was doing. _Why_ had she fucked him, if he was merely a pawn to her? Had she felt it too - what was between them? Why was she doing this? Suddenly, he thought of his family back home, fighting with renewed vigor against her hold. Whatever she was involved in, he didn’t want to be a part of it. He couldn’t risk it. No was on the tip of his tongue, but he somehow couldn’t say it, more horrified about the fact it was his own conscience keeping him from saying it than her own magic.

Again, her eyes softened and her fingers stroked his cheeks, warring with the earlier hardness he saw there. “I’m only doing this so you don’t alert the others at the club,” she sighed again, shaking her head, a wistful smile pulling at her face as she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “I _did_ enjoy that, but my presence has put you in danger,” she whispered, lifting off him and lowering her skirts, her fingers feeling _hot, so hot,_ only realizing afterwards she was yet again using some kind of magic to erase what they’d done - maybe even taking care of the potential risks of their sudden tryst, saddening him for some reason - sitting back astride him and looking over his face, touching on his eyebrows and eyelids with a faint smile, as if she knew what was hidden there - his true fae heritage and looks.

She seemed to struggle with something, then stroked his jaw with gentle fingers. “If you promise to not shout, I will allow you to speak.” He nodded rapidly, realizing his neck functioned again, and her fingers turned hot at his throat.

“Why must I go with you? What’s going on?” He whispered, unable to take his gaze off her. She was so beautiful - why did she have to be so fucking beautiful? As his eyes looked to her ears, seeing rounded graceful shells buried in dark mahogany locks, he blinked in further confusion. _She was human - but had magic? A human with magic? How?_

“I’ll explain when we’re not here. Will you trust me, Jareth?”

Those words brought him back to the memories he was missing, the ones he’d had to watch over a thumb drive to recollect. He swallowed, staring at her, unable to explain it even if he was pressed to later, but nodded, watching her smile in relief and take his hand, standing slowly. “Lean against me and act like we’re lovers,” she whispered, grinning faintly up at him - so much shorter than he was, despite proving she was more than capable on her own, with what she could do. “Shouldn’t be too hard, considering.”

As always when around her, his body sparked at the memory, his blood growing hot and thick in his veins. He nodded again, numbly reaching for her, cupping her cheek for a moment to bring her curtain of hair away from her face, then lowered his mouth, tentatively kissing her.

As he did so, he realized the curtain was being pulled back and the blast of music from the club was once more at full volume. Sarah giggled - a girlish, annoying sound if her ever heard one - watching her act so thoroughly unlike herself, he almost chuckled in response. Looking up at him coquettishly, he allowed her to pull him towards the club doors, despite knowing the risks.

For some inexplicable reason, he _did_ trust her, realizing suddenly he’d follow her anywhere she led him. 

Staring at her, he couldn't help but smile in amusement and shake his head. _So, mother,_ his thoughts rambled as he followed along, _It turns out I **did** meet someone after all. See, she's this human girl who has magic. Can you believe it? Of all women to meet, I met this one. Her name is Sarah Williams, and I think she's going to change the world._


End file.
